


After the nightmare, forever

by NoMoreBeer4U



Series: After the nightmare series [22]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Angst, Drama, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Series, Romance, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:14:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 24,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28173000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoMoreBeer4U/pseuds/NoMoreBeer4U
Summary: Same-sex marriage is finally legal in Colorado. But this is Jack and Daniel, so things are never so easy...
Relationships: Daniel Jackson/Jack O'Neill
Series: After the nightmare series [22]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1704055
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	After the nightmare, forever

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: The usual, I don't own them, I just play with them, blah blah blah...

**Colorado Springs, October 7th, 2014**

“This is ridiculous,” Daniel muttered as he rifled in his pocket with shaking hands, looking for his keys. “I'm forty-nine years old, for crying out loud! Oh, great, now I'm quoting Jack,” he whimpered.

To say he was nervous didn’t cover half the way he was feeling at the moment. Anxious would be a more appropriate adjective. The day he had been waiting for years had finally arrived. Was he glad? Absolutely. Even overexcited. And with the excitement came the fear. If he had to be honest with himself, anxious didn’t cover it either. Daniel was scared. Plain and utterly terrified.

Since today, same-sex marriage was legal in Colorado. And he was going to ask Jack to marry him. But what if he said no? Well, he didn’t have any reason to think his partner would reject him. It was Jack who usually pointed out that the only reason they weren’t married were the laws. Well, finally the laws had changed. So he would say yes, wouldn’t he? But what if he was ok with things the way they were? After all, they had been officially living together for three years. Did they really need a document to prove their commitment? Well, no, not really. They had committed to each other many years ago, but still… somehow it was important to Daniel. All cultures he had studied had mating rituals. A way to show and share their union with the community. And Jack had married Sara, so obviously it was important to him, too. But that had been many years ago. What if Jack didn’t feel the same way anymore?

All of a sudden Daniel felt dizzy, and he swayed. He put his hand on the doorframe to steady himself. He was thinking too much. He better met Jack and asked him right away. So what? Just come into the house, kneel in front of him and show him the ring? It didn’t sound very romantic. Then what? Wait for dinner time? Or later in bed? He groaned at the thought that he hadn’t really planned his course of action. The keys slipped from his sweaty hands and fell to the stony ground with a loud clang. He bent down to pick them up, and when he straightened up he was greeted by the concerned face of his partner, who after hearing the racket at the front door had hurried to open it.

“Hey, baby, you ok?” the older man asked with a frown.

Daniel froze and looked at Jack, his eyes wide open like a deer caught in a car's headlights. “Hmm… y-y-yeah… hmm… why? The archaeologist stammered nervously, failing in his attempt to seem casual.

“You sure? I mean, you look a bit… off.”

“Huh… yeah, yeah… I just hmm… you s-s-startled me,” Daniel moved past his lover and stepped into the house, his heart pounding fast. He instantly noticed the smell. “A-a-are you cooking? It smells good.”

“Yeah, well, I made some dinner,” Jack shrugged. “It will be ready in fifteen, but first of all, shower.” He grabbed his partner by the shoulders and pointed him to the bathroom.

“Huh… hmm… ok.” Daniel complied, glad that he didn’t have to give more excuses for his odd behavior. He headed to the bathroom, stripped quickly, and entered the shower stall. He hoped the warm water would help him relax.

***

Jack was scared. Plain and utterly terrified. Since today, same-sex marriage was legal in Colorado and he was going to ask Daniel to marry him. He had everything planned. The dinner was cooking in the oven, he had lit the candles and the box with the ring was safe in his pocket. But what if Daniel said no? What if he was ok the way things were? Hell, why would he reject him? They were in love, right? But still… What if the marriage wasn’t important to him? After all, he had never asked Sha’re to marry him. She had been a gift.

“Crap, stop thinking, and just do it! “He mumbled.

He went to check the oven. Jack wasn’t a splendid cook beyond his specialty, charred steak a la O’Neill, but this time he had wanted to do something special for his partner, so he had surfed in the net and had found some interesting and easy recipes. He had a go with stuffed roast chicken with a dab of lemon and baked potatoes. The delicious smell that came from the oven made him feel proud of himself.

***

Daniel came out of the shower and stood in front of his chest of drawers. He usually wore a t-shirt and sweatpants at home, but bearing in mind his plan, that didn’t seem appropriate. He opted for blue jeans and a white shirt. He checked that the box with the ring was safe in his pocket and went downstairs. He found Jack peeping into the oven. His partner never bothered so much in cooking, but he didn’t dare to ask what the special occasion was. He was too anxious about his incoming question.

“Daniel!” Jack exclaimed, bolting upright when he felt the archaeologist’s presence.

“Jack, are you alright?” Daniel asked, noticing his haunted eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, I just, huh… checking the hmm… dinner is ready!” he grinned awkwardly.

“Oh, great, great! I mean… hmm, it smells good… huh… good,” Daniel mirrored the grin.

“Yeah, hmm, so… I hmm, the table is ready, you can sit, I mean, well, if you’re hungry, I mean…” _For crying out loud O’Neill, get a grip!_ ” Jack thought. _“I’m sixty-one years old and I sound like a teenager with a crush.”_

Daniel noticed the candles on the table and blinked repeatedly. Jack rarely lit candles. Had he found out about his plan? Well, if he did, then the candles were a good sign, right? Or maybe it was just a coincidence. Jack was acting weird. Wait, what if… what if… what if it was the last dinner? Oh, no. Now that he paid attention, Daniel realized that Jack looked very pale. Oh, God, he was sick. He had a terminal illness, and he was going to die, and he was going to tell him right now. He had prepared a special dinner to cushion the blow. Daniel took a deep breath to compose himself before starting to hyperventilate and he pushed those thoughts away. Jack was fine, they had constant medical evaluations at the SGC, and as far as he knew, his partner was in perfect health. It was just a dinner, a dinner, couples did that all the time, didn’t they?

Trying to control his nerves, Daniel sat on his chair. Jack came carrying a platter and placed it on the table. Daniel raised his eyebrows to the view.

“Jack, that looks delicious! And it smells even better!” Daniel’s concern took a step behind as his mouth watered.

“Yeah, well, not bad for a retired old General, I guess,” Jack shrugged.

“Jack, you’re not that old. Mummies are old. You’re… mature.” Daniel teased and felt himself relax a bit. This was Jack, his lover for fourteen years, the man he trusted the most in the entire galaxy, the man who had proved his commitment uncountable times. There wasn’t any reason to be nervous. Then why couldn’t make his body stop shaking every time he thought about his incoming proposal?

“Smartass.” Jack also felt his tension decreasing a notch. That was Daniel, his partner, his lover for fourteen years, the man he trusted the most in the entire galaxy. There wasn’t any reason to be nervous. Then why was that feeling of dread still settled in the pit of his stomach?

Jack served the meal, and they ate in silence, sharing some looks and smiles, but not daring to bring the issue at hand yet. The older man accompanied his dish with a beer while the archaeologist savored a Cabernet Sauvignon. Although they were doing their best to conceal it, the anxiety was eating both men alive. Suddenly they could no longer hold the tension.

“Daniel, I…”

“Jack, I…” the archaeologist said at the same time.

They stared at each other, their Adam’s apples bobbing convulsively.

“Sorry, hmm, you were going to…” Daniel started.

“No, no, you… I mean…”

“No, Jack, please… hmm…”

“Ok, ok,” Jack took a deep breath. “Daniel, I… hmm… you know that you’re the most special person in my life and hmm… well, it comes a time when, well, you know, things change and well, what once was enough isn’t enough anymore and…”

Daniel froze. Oh, God. Oh, God. Jack was going to leave him. He just said things change. Oh, God. He didn’t love him anymore. What they had wasn’t enough. He wasn’t enough anymore. Jack needed more and he couldn’t give him more. Wait, wait, he could, he could. The answer might be in his pocket. Maybe if he asked Jack to marry him, that would be enough, and Jack would love him again, and they could redesign their relationship. Maybe his new position at the SGC wasn’t enough for him. They could talk about it, couldn’t they? Oh, God, Jack wasn’t happy, and he hadn’t even noticed that. What sort of partner was he? He had to convince Jack that they could do it, that what they had was worthy, that they could make it work.

Jack saw the fear reflected in Daniel’s eyes. Oh, shit. He was going to say no. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why would such a gorgeous middle-aged man want to marry such a decrepit, old, scarred ex-Air Force General? Wait, they had walked that road before. Daniel loved him despite his age. But what if he didn’t lust for him anymore? No, no, no, no. The sex was great, as always. Then why looked he so scared? Terrified, even? Oh, crap, he could no longer hold the tension. He needed to ask him… wait, what if he really said no? Oh, God, life without Daniel was unimaginable.

Both men’s hearts were pounding at high speed and a cold sweat broke out on their foreheads. Unable to sustain the torture anymore, Jack buried his hand into his pocket at the same time Daniel buried his hand in his. And then, perfectly synchronized like a couple of trapeze artists, they reached out their hands at the same time, opened the boxes with the rings, and held them in front of each other noses.

“Marry me!” They exclaimed in unison.

They both froze and stared at each other open-mouthed stunned for a long minute. And then, at the same time, they burst into loud laughs. Guffaws echoed in the kitchen as their belly-laugh swept all the tension away. Both men gripped their stomachs as laugh after laugh made their bodies convulse. After a few minutes, they calmed down and looked at each other with watery eyes.

“I take it that’s a yes?” Jack asked once he had managed to control his spasms.

“God, Jack, I thought… I thought… oh, yes, that’s a big yes,” Daniel answered as he slid his fingers under his glasses to brush away the tears of laughter.

Jack’s face lit like a 20,000 watts bulb. “I love you so much, baby. And my answer is yes, too. A big, huge, infinite yes.”

They stood up at the same time and half climbed on the table to lock their lips together in a hungry kiss. Their tongues entwined in a fervent dance that mixed beer, wine, and lemon while trying to suck each other’s tonsils. When they broke the kiss, they stared at each other for several seconds, their shining eyes talking about infinite love and devotion.

“I love you, God, I love you, and nothing could make me happier than being your husband,” Jack said with emotion while stroking his fiancé’s cheek.

“I love you, too, Jack, more than anything, and I will be proud to be your husband,” Daniel replied with an identical sentiment.

Jack took the box with Daniel’s ring inside. “Well, now that we agree, we should put these rings where they belong.”

Daniel extended his left hand and Jack slipped the ring on his finger. It was a beautiful piece made of white gold and had a round sapphire embedded in the middle, exactly the same color as Daniel’s eyes.

“Oh, my God,” the archaeologist whispered in shock.

“What?” the older man asked, a bit concerned. Was there anything wrong with the ring?

“Jack, give me your hand,” Daniel urged.

The older man complied, and the archaeologist slid the other ring on his finger. It was identical to the other one, except for the stone, which in that case was a chocolate opal gemstone, exactly the same color as Jack’s eyes.

“Wow!” Jack exclaimed. “We really are on the same page.”

The two partners stared at each other, their eyes sparkling with love and lust.

“Bed, now,” they said in unison.

***

Daniel and Jack lay on the bed in a tangle of limbs. They were panting, trying to recover their breathing after a round of mind-blowing sex.

“That was…” Daniel panted.

“Yeah…”

“May I ask you to marry me again tomorrow?”

“No, if you want me to make it to the altar alive.”

Daniel chuckled. He rested the elbow on Jack’s chest, raised his hand, and watched his ring intently. “I can’t believe we’re finally going to do this. I’m happy, Jack. Happier than I ever thought I could be. And everything thanks to you.” He looked at his future husband with sparkling eyes.

Jack felt the emotion tightening his throat and didn’t trust his voice, so he just pulled the younger man up and captured his lips in a long, ardent kiss. Then they glued their foreheads together and got lost in the passion that radiated from each other's gaze. They stayed like that for several minutes, both men carding each other’s hair tenderly. At the moment, there wasn’t any need for words. The energy of love that emanated from every one of their pores was physically palpable.

“I don’t know how I’m going to be able to express everything I feel for you in my vows,” Jack whispered, finally breaking the silence.

Daniel took his lips again in a gentle kiss. Then he accommodated on his side, resting on his elbow, his left hand fiddling with Jack’s chest hair, his left leg hooked on his partner’s one.

“I want to marry you,” he said softly.

“I thought we had established that,” Jack pointed out in confusion.

“No, I mean, I want to marry you. I mean… I checked the marriage law in Colorado. We don’t need an officiant, not even witnesses, just to sign the marriage license.”

“You don’t want a ceremony?” Jack arched his eyebrows in surprise.

“Yes, yes, I want a ceremony. I want to share that day with all our friends, but we don’t need anyone to pronounce us husband and husband. I want to do it myself, and receive it from you, as well. I don’t want anyone telling me “now you can kiss the groom.”

Jack laughed at Daniel’s funny face. “Ok, it works for me. So when do you wanna do it?”

“That’s an easy one. Exactly in thirteen days,” the archaeologist said firmly.

“Why? What happens in thirteen days?”

“Your birthday.”

“Oh.”

“I want to be your special gift,” Daniel licked his eyes seductively.

“That works for me, too,” Jack grinned. “Let’s do it here, at home, in our backyard,” he proposed.

“It’s the perfect place, where everything started,” Daniel agreed easily.

“What, no arguments? Are we going to agree on everything? Huh, why couldn’t we do that we were on SG-1?”

“I don’t know,” Daniel shrugged. “Maybe because then we were dealing with life or death situations all the time and now we’re just dealing with life and love ones?”

“And this is the way it’s going to be.” Jack’s face became serious. “I mean it Daniel, no more life or death situations. Promise me.”

“Jack, I can’t promise you that and you know it. It’s not like I’m looking for them, you know? Besides, it’s been three years since the last one and nothing has happened since then, right? Even the times I’ve gone off-world for the last three years have been smooth walks in the park. The maximum I’ve got was a few scratches that day I slipped in that quarry on P6Y-887. I’ve had worse injuries shaving.”

“Yeah, you’re right. It’s just… I don’t know, I guess I just want this to be perfect. I’ve been waiting so many years for this moment. I just don’t want last moment scares. I’m not sure I could deal with any right now.”

“No last moment scares. Got it. I’ll get to the altar safe and sound, I promise,” Daniel smiled fondly.

“I take your word. I love you, Dr. Jackson. More than anything, forever.” Jack said, his eyes glistening with deep emotion.

“I love you too, Mr. O’Neill, forever.”

***

For the rest of the week, during their free time, they concentrated on planning the wedding. They got the license, order the suits and the rings, and contracted the catering. They informed General Landry, Vala, Mitchel, and Teal’c, who was currently on Earth. Since Jack and Daniel had come back to Colorado, Teal’c was spending more time at the SGC. Lately, he was combining his functions as a Jaffa leader with a position as advisor and trainer at the SGC. Both his and Jack’s expertise were of great value, especially for recruits. Mitchell and Vala would be off-world for some days, but they would arrive in time for the wedding. The former pirate volunteered to decorate the backyard, and Jack and Daniel agreed on having one less issue to worry about.

They also contacted Sam, Cassie, and Paul. The three of them were happy about the news and promised they would be there. Only General Hammond, who had suffered a fatal heart attack five years ago, would miss the event. The couple saddened at the memory.

***

**SGC, October 13th, 2014**

Next Monday, Daniel arrived at the SGC at 7:00 AM. He was watching Mitchell and Vala departing to their mission when General Landry called him to his office. Twenty minutes later, the archaeologist was on the phone, calling his fiancé at home.

“O’Neill.”

“Jack, it’s me, I just wanted to let you know that I’m going off-world for a few hours. I’ll be back at 16:00, so we won’t be able to meet for lunch as we planned.” Daniel was talking one hundred miles per hour.

“Hey, slow down, grasshopper,” Jack teased him, “I didn’t understand the half of what you said.”

“Oh, sorry,” the younger man apologized, “I guess I’m a bit overexcited.”

“So, what’s so… exciting? And is it safe? If it isn’t safe, forget it, you’re not going anywhere. I mean it, Daniel.”

The archaeologist could imagine the frown of concern on his partner’s face.

“Jack, you don’t need to worry. I’m going to P7X-443. SG-13 have been there for one week. The planet is secured,” Daniel reassured him.

“So, what’s so exceptional that Balinsky can’t take care of it himself?” Jack asked, referring to SG-13’s archaeologist.

“Oh, yes, God, I couldn’t believe it when Landry told me,” Daniel's speech speed increased again. “They were dismantling the camp to go back to Earth when they found a cave, and inside there is a device like that one on Heliopolis. In so many years of exploration, we never found any other one like that. And looks like there are writings on the language of the Furlings all over the walls. The Furlings, Jack, the Furlings! That if you remember, were one of the races allied to the Ancients, the Asgard and the Nox. We never came across them, so we just assumed they had extinguished. This is a unique opportunity to learn more about them, maybe even contact them! Jack, do you realize the importance of this?”

“Danny, hmm… this doesn’t sound like a few hours mission to me.” Jack’s mind wandered to the mission to Heliopolis, where they found Ernest Littlefield and the marvelous device. He had almost lost his partner on that planet, lured by his thirst for knowledge.

“Don’t worry, Jack, I’m just going to assess the situation. All I have to do is check the device, make sure that’s like the one we found in P3X-972,” Daniel hurried to reassure his fiancé.

“And then?” Jack wasn’t very convinced. He knew how Daniel could get trapped in his job.

“Then, if it’s really worthy, we’ll send an expedition to study the place.”

“Daniel…”

“Expedition which I will coordinate from Earth.” The archaeologist’s voice softened. “Jack, I made my choice years ago, I love you more than anything, and I’m not going anywhere without you. I will lead the translation team from Earth, I will only have to visit the planet from time to time.”

On the other side of the line, Daniel heard Jack letting out the air that he had been holding.

“SG-13 were scheduled to come back today at 16:00, so I’ll come back with them as planned. The device is in a safe place, it isn’t going to fall into the ocean like the one in Heliopolis. We’ll have plenty of time to think about where we go from there. But rest assured Jack, no adventure can compare with the one that you and I are going to start next week.”

Jack felt some of his tension loosen at Daniel’s words. “I love you too, baby. Have fun, I’ll be waiting for you at the SGC.”

“See you then, I love you.”

“Just take care, ok? Remember you promised to get to the altar safe and sound.”

“Jack…!” Daniel laughed.

“Daniel…”

“I’ll take care, I promise. Gotta go. Bye.”

“I love you, see you later.” After hanging up the phone, Jack kept staring at the receiver for a while. A safe planet, safe plan, no apparent risks… then, what was that new feeling of dread that was spreading in his gut? And this wasn’t like the one he had had the day they got engaged. That one went far deeper.

***

At 9:00 AM Daniel was ready to walk through the gate. Apparently, P7X-443 lived a permanent winter, and it was completely covered in snow, so he was wearing cold-weather gear. Harriman dialed the coordinates, Landry gave his authorization, and the archaeologist stepped through the event horizon. He landed in a valley surrounded by high snowed mountains. Truth be told, the landscape was breathtaking.

Captains Simon Wells and Jake Bosworth were there to receive him. SG-13 was the only team on the SGC that had kept the same members for over ten years. At his fifty years, Colonel Dixon was in best shape than ever, and his leadership skills had helped to build a strong bond between the members of his team, Dr. Cameron Balinsky, and the two captains. After the fateful rescue mission on P3X-666 that had costed the life of Dr. Janet Fraiser ten years ago, Daniel and Wells, Senior airman at that time, had developed a long-lasting friendship.

“Simon, Jake, nice to see you, guys” Daniel greeted the two men. “So Simon, how are Marcy and little Janet doing?” Wells had named his daughter after Dr. Fraiser, the heroine who died saving his life.

“Welcome, Daniel,” Simon grinned. “They’re great, thanks for asking. By the way, Janet loved the last book you gave her, he’s read it already twice. She told me- hey dad, when you see Daniel tell him that this Jules Verne is really cooooool.”

Daniel laughed. He and Jack hung out with Well’s family from time to time, and every time they met, Daniel gave little Janet a book. The last one had been “Journey to the center of the Earth.”

Daniel noticed that four animals were lying on the snow next to his friends. They looked like some sort of goats, although bigger and without horns and with very long and thick white fur. As soon as the group started to walk, the animals stood up and followed them lazily.

“So, Simon, are you going to introduce me to your friends?” Daniel asked, amused.

“Oh, they are Dasher, Dancer, Comet, and Rudolph,” Wells laughed. “Don’t worry a bit, Daniel. They are just peaceful herbivores. They were here when we emerged from the gate the first time, and now they follow us everywhere we go. I guess they never met human beings before and are just curious. We’ve seen some more in the mountains. Looks like some of them shelter in the cave with the alien device. There is fur scattered all over the place."

“Nice,” Daniel smiled.

“We have detected other life forms, small rodents, and some birds, but nothing to worry about.

The cave that housed the alien device wasn’t too far from the Stargate, and the three men chatted animatedly on their way. Despite the snow, the planet wasn’t too cold. Its single sun was similar in size and distance to the one on Earth, and it was shining with no clouds in sight. The temperature wasn’t lower than 40°, nothing to do with the freezing cold in Antarctica.

“Is it always this warm in here?” Daniel asked, a bit surprised by the weather.

“It gets even warmer in the afternoon,” Wells pointed out. “It reached 60° a couple of days ago. The nights are pretty cool, though.”

“Well, as we won’t be here at night, there’s nothing to worry about,” the archaeologist said in relief. After so many years living in Colorado, he still couldn’t get used to the cold. Warm sunny days in Egypt and Abydos, with those ones he could deal with without a problem.

After thirty minutes of difficult walking on soft snow, they arrived at the cave. It was situated at the foot of the mountain, concealed behind a row of boulders. Colonel Dixon was guarding the entrance.

“Dr. Jackson,” he shook hands with the archaeologist. “Welcome to the cave of wonders, as Balinsky has named it. Take care not to slip, he is drooling all over the place.”

“Hi, Dixon,” Daniel laughed at the colonel’s remark. “Well, if what you said is true, there are good reasons to drool. Let’s see what you’ve found.”

“Wells, accompany him, Bosworth and I will keep watch,” the colonel ordered.

“Yes, Sir. Daniel, this way. Man, you’re going to love this,” the captain said with enthusiasm.

The temperature inside the cave was much warmer than on the outside, so both Daniel and Wells got rid of their thick jackets, so they were just wearing their black t-shirts, light jackets, and tac-vests. They walked along a narrow corridor of rock and after only one hundred yards, they entered a big, round cave. And there, in the center, was the alien device. It was exactly the same one they had found on Ernest’s planet, and it was displaying the same colored patterns to the ceiling. Dr. Cameron Balinsky was standing in front of the device, taking notes on his pad eagerly.

“Wow, this is incredible!” Daniel exclaimed marveled. As Balinsky had pointed out in his previous connection with the SGC, the walls were all carved, and Daniel quickly recognized the language of the Furlings.

“Daniel!” Balinsky stopped writing as he acknowledged his boss. “I’m glad you made it! You need to see this, it’s amazing!”

The senior archaeologist approached the device with his mouth open and his eyes shining. Balinsky started to explain everything about the place, how they had found it, and what he had learned until now. Wells watched the two scientists’ exchange with amusement. After a few hours, Daniel had determined that the device was almost identical to the one found years ago, and had inspected the engraved walls. He needed his notes to make an accurate translation, but at first sight, he caught that the text was about the Furlings’ history, philosophy, and achievements in various fields. In one word- worthy. Worthy enough to send an expedition to record the whole material, and who knows, maybe they could take the alien device with them so they could study it thoroughly at the SGC. The simple thought made Daniel’s mouth water. Only that, would provide him with years of work far from risks, which translated into a highly stimulated mind and a happy husband. Daniel smiled at the perspective. Oh, yeah, definitely worthy. So, work done, time to go back to Earth, and immerse in preparing the imminent wedding.

Daniel and Balinsky gathered all their stuff and headed to the cave entrance together with Wells. As the captain had predicted, the temperature had risen several degrees, so the three men didn’t bother to put on their cold-weather jackets again. They just stuffed them into their backpacks, together with their snow caps and gloves. After some minutes of walking, they saw in the distance that Dixon and Bosworth already were at the Stargate, securing the packed equipment on the FRED. After one week on the planet, looked like Balinsky and Wells were used to walk on the frozen terrain, but the heat had softened the snow and Daniel was struggling to keep up. The two members of SG-13 were fifty yards ahead of the senior archaeologist when Bosworth pressed the glyphs on the DHD.

***

**SGC**

Jack looked at his watch. 16:00. SG-13 and his fiancé would dial at any moment. He was eager to show him the surprise he had himself come across. Sam and Teal’c were standing by his side. Although the wedding was next week, Sam had decided to take some days off and enjoy the company of their friends as much as possible. After all, it had been a long time since the four of them had hung out together. All of them missed terribly the camaraderie of the first years. They weren’t just ex-teammates; they were a family in the widest sense of the word, and those few and far between moments were precious to them.

“Are you ok, Sir… I mean, J…?” It was difficult for Sam to call the former General by his name. He had always been “Sir” to her, and it sounded odd to call him just Jack. She looked at him in concern as he fidgeted nervously while staring at the Stargate through the glass.

“Yes, yes Carter, I hmm… just wishing to see Daniel. He’s going to be thrilled of finding you here,” Jack smiled weakly. Truth be told, the heavy weight that had settled on the pit of his stomach since the moment his partner had told him about the mission, was still there, heavier than ever. He guessed it was just nerves about the imminent wedding. Daniel was coming home. He couldn’t wait to engulf his future husband into his arms and ravish him like there was no tomorrow.

“Incoming wormhole!” Chief Master Sargent Walter Harriman announced when the glyphs on the Stargate began to lit.

Two seconds later, the familiar kawoosh sounded behind the iris.

“Waiting for a signal…” Harriman seemed to hold his breath, “… it’s SG-13, Sir,” he smiled in relief.

“Open the iris,” General Landry ordered.

Jack blew and bounced on his heels. Daniel was coming home as scheduled. No unexpected ambushes or other nasty surprises. Then why the hell wasn’t his tensed body relaxing? The FRED carrying the equipment appeared through the gate and descended the ramp smoothly. The team would be there at any second. Suddenly the feeling of dread increased another notch and ran from Jack’s gut directly to his heart.

“Damn, something’s wrong, something’s wrong,” he muttered to himself. “C’mon, Danny, push your beautiful ass through the wormhole, and please, be whole.”

“Are you unwell, O’Neill?” Asked Teal’c seeing the layer of sweat covering Jack’s forehead.

“I don’t know T, I’ve got this gut feeling… I don’t know.”

“I don’t understand your uneasiness, O’Neill. It doesn’t seem to be any problem,” Teal’c tried to reassure his friend.

“No, it doesn’t…”

***

**P7X-443**

Barely had the FRED disappeared through the gate when they all heard the noise. It sounded like thunder, but it couldn’t be. The sun was shining in all its splendor, there wasn’t a single cloud staining the sky. They all realized at the same time that the sound was coming from the mountain, and it hadn’t stopped. In fact, it was increasing its volume. The five men froze and looked towards the source of the noise.

“Avalanche!” Dixon shouted, pointing at the top of the nearest hill.

The team watched in horror how tonnes of snow detached from the slope and started a wild race directly towards the Stargate.

“Run, for Christ’s sake, ruuuuuun!!!” Dixon yelled to the three straggled members of the group.

Balinsky and Wells were near the gate. They had good options to make it, but Daniel was over fifty yards behind them. The soft terrain was making it difficult to run, and the snow from the avalanche was rolling extremely fast.

“Dammit, I’m not gonna make it, it’s too far, shit, shit, shit!” Daniel mumbled through clenched teeth. “Simon, Cameron, run!!!” he shouted, seeing that his friends had real options to escape, as long as they reached the gate within the next five seconds.

“Daniel!” Wells shouted back, as he watched in horror how the first blocks of snow crumbled in their descent and splashed the archaeologist’s back.

“Just go, damn it, go!!!” Daniel yelled in despair.

“Bosworth, go!” Dixon ordered to the captain, while his eyes kept glued to the other three men. Balinsky and Wells were almost there, but Jackson, God, he would not make it, he wouldn't…

***

**SGC**

At the Stargate Command, just as the FRED reached the end of the ramp, Bosworth appeared through the wormhole, running like a bat out of hell.

“Evacuate the gateroom! Evacuate the gateroom!” he shouted while he waved his arms effusively.

Caught off-guard, Jack and Landry looked at each other for a second, as if they needed the confirmation that they were hearing it right.

“Evacuate the gateroom!” Bosworth repeated.

“Do it!” Landry ordered through the microphone. “Everybody out of the gateroom!”

Jack stared at the Stargate, completely frozen. His body tensed and prepared for a response, either attack or flee, as the feeling of dread increased and spread to every cell of his anatomy. He could feel Sam and Teal’c tensing as well.

All personnel quickly left the gateroom, and one second later, Dixon, Balinsky and Wells, crossed the shimmering pool running even faster than Bosworth. Hardly had they reached the exit when a wave of snow came through the gate at high speed and bestrewed all over the place. Two seconds later, the event horizon flickered, and the Stargate shut down. The whole gateroom was covered with several feet of snow.

Before he had time to think, Jack was running down the stairs, his mind only able to process one word- Daniel. DanielDanielDanielDanielDaniel… his partner hadn’t come with the others, shitshitshitshitshit!

“Dixon, where is Daniel!?” he asked anxiously as soon as he saw the leader of SG-13, who had reached the corridor and lay on the floor half-buried in snow, the same as his teammates.

Sam and Teal’c quickly appeared next to them. The colonel looked in all directions and recognized the members of his team, but the senior archaeologist was nowhere in sight.

“Dammit!” he swore, “he was a few yards behind us, the avalanche must have caught him!”

“The snow must have pushed him through the gate!” Balinsky exclaimed, fear written all over his face. “Colonel, he could be buried under this mound of snow!”

“There are almost seven feet of snow all over the gateroom!” Sam pointed out, her face pale with fear. “My God, he could be anywhere!”

“Dammit!” Jack exclaimed, feeling the rush of adrenaline rocketing. “We need something to use as probes!” He looked frantically around, looking for something they could use. “Teal’c, the tripods!”

Two airmen had evacuated the gateroom taking with them their machine guns still attached to the tripods. Both Jack and Teal’c grabbed them, quickly dismantled the guns, and smashed the tripods against the wall. They kicked the broken pieces until they got three separated legs from each tripod. They took two of the legs while Sam and three airmen took the other four. They extended the legs to the maximum and jumped on the pile of snow. The six of them began to pierce the snow frantically.

“We don’t have much time!” Sam exclaimed in angst. “If he’s really down there, he’s going to suffocate!”

“Dammit, Carter, tell me something I don’t know!” Jack snapped at her, lost in his despair.

They all slid the makeshift probes into the snow over and over again and nothing, only plain, soft snow. After a couple of minutes Siler arrived, followed by some airmen, carrying shovels, bars, and everything they had found to use as a probe. Everyone around with two hands took a stick and joined the rescuers.

Jack was frenzied. He stuck his probe every two feet, and every time the stick slid through the snow just to meet solid ground underneath, a piece of his heart died. As minutes went away, sheer terror consumed his insides.

“Dammit, Daniel,” he muttered to himself while searching wildly, “you promised me, you promised me, you promised me…”

“O’Neill, I’ve got something!” Teal’c’s voice resounded in the room.

In one second Jack was there, two shovels in his hands. He threw one to the Jaffa, and both friends began to dig furiously.

“Daniel, I’m here! Hang on! Hang on!” the former General shouted while concentrated on his task.

After several seconds of fierce digging, a piece of black cloth was visible among the snow.

“I can see his tac-vest!” Jack shouted out. “Daniel! Daniel!”

Sam had joined them in their task, and the three former members of SG-1 quickly removed the snow surrounding the cloth. Jack’s heart plummeted to his feet and crashed into a million pieces when Teal’c grabbed the item that had been buried three feet under the freezing prison. It was a backpack. Obviously, Daniel’s backpack, since the rest of the members of SG-13 had all came through the Stargate with their own hanging on their backs.

“Keep searching, keep searching!” Jack ordered, resuming his work with the probe.

“Sir… Jack…” Sam looked at him with watery eyes. “It’s been more than five minutes. If he’s really here, it’s too la…”

“No!” Jack interrupted her. “No! I don’t wanna hear it, Carter! No!!!”

The entire staff flinched at the loud outburst and stopped their task. Jack looked at them with bloodshot eyes.

“I didn’t tell you to stop! Keep moving! Keep moving! He has to be here, somewhere! Keep searching!”

The stunned airmen searched for General Landry’s confirmation. He nodded, a sad rictus on his face. The airmen continued sticking their probes into the melting snow.

Half an hour later, the whole mound had been pierced and shoveled. No sign of Daniel.

“Fuck, wherever the avalanche pushed him it wasn’t through the gate, he’s still on that planet! General, we have to go back!” Jack was shaking from the anxiety.

“Hmm… S… Jack,” Sam knew he wouldn't like what she was going to say. “If he was heading to the gate and was dragged by the avalanche, then he… hmm… might... possibly be on transit when the gate shut down, and in that case…” a look to the former General's anxious face made her stop before finishing her sentence.

Jack closed his eyes and took a deep breath while scrubbed his face. God knew he truly cared for that woman, but sometimes, he just wanted to squeeze her throat and make her shut up. He turned his head and stared at her. The enormous amount of pain that filled his eyes shocked her. He wore the gaze of a man that had reached the end of his rope. A man who had suffered loss and scares too many times to keep the count. An exhausted man who couldn’t cope anymore. And she saw it crystal clear, reflected in the deepest of his dark eyes. If Daniel hadn’t survived, they were going to lose him as well.

“Carter, we don’t know that. The most plausible explanation is that he managed to dodge the avalanche, or maybe it dragged him toward another direction,” Jack tried to keep a low voice in an attempt to control his emotions, but the tone increased by the second. “We don’t have time for you astro-theories right now. He might be badly hurt on that frigging planet, we have to go back!” He refused to consider the possibility that he was already dead, buried under tonnes of snow.

“I also believe DanielJackson may be alive on that planet, O’Neill,” Teal’c stated firmly, “He has proven his capabilities to survive extremely difficult situations many times.”

“I… my job is to consider all the possibilities,” Sam tried to defend herself. But she couldn’t hold Jack’s pain-filled gaze anymore, and she lowered her eyes. “You’re right. Of all the possibilities, yours is the most logical explanation. Besides, he’s Daniel. He always achieves the impossible against all odds. We'll find him.” She smiled awkwardly. She didn’t dare to add a *he's going to be ok* remark. Even if Jack didn’t want to hear it, she knew the possibilities to find the archaeologist alive went from tiny to microscopic.

“Let’s move, people!” said Landry, who had been watching the exchange closely. “We need to make a way to send a MALP through the gate. Siler, take a team and use whatever you need to clear the way.

“Yes, Sir!”

“Colonel Dixon,” Landry called the leader of SG-13, who was being assessed by medic personnel, like the rest of his team. “You and your team, go to the infirmary. Once you’re cleared for duty, go to rest. You’re are the only ones who know that planet, so you’ll join the rescue party.”

Landry headed towards the control room with Jack hot on his heels.

“General, I need to go on the rescue mission,” he said, moving next to the older man.

“Jack, you’re a civilian now. Your former clearance doesn’t apply anymore. You haven’t got the permission to go through the gate yet.”

“Then clear me!”

“What, do you think I have the clearance just under my sleeve?”

“Then call whoever is necessary!” Jack shouted in desperation.

“Jack, it’s not that…”

“Hank!” Jack interrupted the General holding him by his shoulder.

Landry sighed, turned around, and met tormented haunted eyes.

“Hank, we’re talking about Daniel here, the man I’m going to marry in a week.” Jack’s gaze pierced the General’s grayish-blue eyes. “Tell me you wouldn’t do it for your daughter.”

Landry saw the determination, the hope, and above all, the deep pain.

“Alright,” he sighed. “I'll call the president. It’s the fastest way.”

***

Jack and Teal’c joined the team designed to clear the gateroom. The first goal was to open a corridor for the MALP. Shovel in hand, they worked furiously to remove the snow. At least this way Jack could release some adrenaline. The uncertainty was killing him. He tried to focus on the task, but his mind kept sending him images of his lover suffocating under tonnes of snow. What if they hadn’t checked the mound well after all and Daniel was still somewhere in the gateroom? What if Sam was right, and he had vanished during the transit through the wormhole? What if he was stuck nowhere between two worlds like Teal’c was years ago, and a new activation of the gate vaporized him? What if the wormhole had discharged him to another planet?

Every possible scenario his mind created was worse than the previous, and every one of those thoughts was a new dagger stabbing his heart painfully. He dismissed those ideas and concentrated on the theory that Daniel was still on P7X-443. That was the most likely explanation. He continued shoveling snow frenetically. He had to keep moving, or he was going to lose it completely. Pierce-shovel, pierce-shovel, pierce-shovel, pierce-Daniel dying, pierce-Daniel dead, pierce-his world ending, pierce-no, no, nononono. He'd be ok, he'd be ok, he was Daniel, always pulling the rabbit from the hat. Cold sweat emerged from every one of his pores. His stomach churned, his heart pounded in an unhealthy rhythm, and his lungs didn’t get enough air. His entire body was shaking and he felt dizzy, but he didn’t stop. He clenched his teeth and kept shoveling snow out of the way with all his strength.

An hour later they had removed most of the snow and there was a clean corridor to the Stargate. Jack felt pressure on his shoulder but didn’t slow his movements.

“O’Neill.”

The pressure increased, but still, Jack didn’t stop.

“O’Neill, you can stop now.”

Another squeeze, harder, and he finally stopped. Teal’c was next to him, deep concern written on his face. Jack stared at him with haunted eyes. His entire body was covered with a thick layer of sweat and he was panting hard.

“O’Neill, you must rest,” the Jaffa said gravely. “We have achieved our goal.”

Jack looked up and saw that, indeed, they had removed all the snow from the metallic ramp.

“There is nothing more we can do at the moment for DanielJackson,” Teal’c continued. “You must keep your strength in order to be able to join the rescue team.”

Jack stared at his friend for several seconds in confusion. Then he blinked a few times and nodded. Without a word, he threw away his shovel and headed to the control room, dragging Daniel’s backpack with him. Sam was there, working on the computer. Surprised by the unusual bulge in the backpack, Jack opened it and checked its contents. His heart skipped a beat when he extracted Daniel’s snow cap, his gloves, and his cold weather jacket.

“Jesus Christ! Carter, how much does the temperature drop at night on that planet?

The colonel looked at Jack and he froze when he saw the contents of the backpack in the man’s hands. She stared at him in shock and swallowed hard. Jack had his answer. He closed his eyes in a futile attempt to escape the grim reality.

***

A few minutes later, Jack, Sam, Teal’c, and General Landry watched with great tension as the MALP disappeared through the shimmering pool. The Stargate had engaged without problems. The same thought ran through the minds of the people gathered in the control room- if the Stargate was operative and Daniel was unharmed, he should have tried to contact them, wouldn’t he? If he hadn’t done it, there were two major possibilities to consider- one, the avalanche had damaged the gate or the DHD, and two, Daniel was badly hurt, or dead, buried under the snow. The suspense was killing Jack from the inside.

“Receiving MALP telemetry,” sergeant Harriman announced.

Everybody looked at the monitor, but all they could see was a black screen.

“What’s happening?” Jack asked anxiously. “Why can’t we see anything?”

“We should,” Sam pointed out. “According to the data, it’s still daylight on the planet.”

“Walter, turn on the headlights,” Landry ordered.

As the sergeant did, they all gasped in shock. The MALP seemed to be in an ice cave.

“Dammit, what are we looking at?” Jack asked, alarm taking control of his voice.

“I guess that the avalanche covered the Stargate,” Sam said. “And this sort of tunnel was dug by the incoming wormhole. That sort of reminds me of what happened when Colonel O’Neill was trapped in Edora.”

Jack’s face bleached. “Carter, it took you over three months to reach the surface on Edora,” he said, fear evident in his tone. “Daniel doesn’t even have a day, he’s out there, alone, with no food, no shelter, and no appropriate outfit!”

“No, no, it’s not the same situation. In Edora, the molten naquada hardened just in front of the Stargate and created a sort of iris. We don’t have that problem here. We just need to dig a tunnel in the snow.”

“Can we do that?” General Landry asked.

“Yes, Sir, with the appropriate equipment we should be able to reach the surface in a few hours.”

“Let’s just send through the gate a couple of C4 and blow it up! We could reach the surface in thirty seconds!” Jack exclaimed impatiently.

“It’s not that easy,” Sam stopped him. “If Daniel is somewhere near the gate, we could kill him. Besides, the explosion could damage the DHD or cause a new avalanche.”

“Shit, this is a nightmare.” Jack dug his fingers in his scalp and pulled his hair in frustration.

“Ok, then, take whatever workforce and equipment are necessary and make that tunnel,” Landry ordered. “And let’s hope Dr. Jackson is still alive and can hold on by his own in the meantime.”

***

The first thing he was aware of when he regained consciousness was the cold. Raw, piercing cold. The second thing he perceived was the sharp pain in his head. He noticed that was lying on his side, his arms limp in front of him. He tried to move, but something was pinning him down. Something heavy and cold. The effort made him moan. OK, so no moving for now. He should try something easier, like opening his eyes. He tried, but the eyelids felt too heavy. He moaned again. He felt dazed, his mind adrift in a field of thick fog. He didn’t know what happened, where he was or how he had arrived there. His confusion turned into panic when he realized he couldn’t remember anything, not even his name.

He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to focus his mind, but it came up blank. Nothing. Besides, the effort made his headache worse. He started to hyperventilate and concentrated on slowing his breathing down. OK, relax, in-out, in-out, in-out. He managed to control his breathing before it triggered a full-panic attack. He could feel the loud pound of his heart echoing into his ears and continued focusing on bringing air into his lungs. When it seemed he had it under control, he tried to open his eyes again. This time it worked, although the only thing he could see was a dark blob of nothing. He moved his right hand and found himself grabbing a bunch of cold, crumbling material. Snow? That would explain the cold. He tried to raise his body, but the heavy weight made it difficult. His fuzzy mind managed to make the necessary connections to understand that he was buried under a pile of snow. But if it was so, shouldn't he be suffocating? Maybe he wasn’t buried too deep. He pressed his palm against the ground, gathered all his strength, and pushed upwards with his shoulder. Something moved above him and he pushed harder. The snow didn’t appear to be too compacted. He rammed and rammed with his elbow against his prison of ice until something cracked. He smashed a sharp blow against the weakened snow until he could free his arm. He kept pushing frantically, scattering pieces of snow to all directions until he could free the upper part of his body. A sharp pain pierced his head and a wave of dizziness assaulted him as soon as he sat upright. He took a deep inhalation of fresh air and he coughed when the freezing oxygen reached his lungs. He wrapped his arms around his midsection and fought to keep the contents of his stomach in their place. He took a couple of minutes to settle down and then assessed his situation.

He looked around him, keeping the movements slow to avoid increasing his discomfort. He was in the middle of a slope, in a sort of valley, surrounded by snowy mountains, but he had no idea where he was. For all he knew, he could be anywhere in the Rocky Mountains, the Swiss Alps, or Antarctica. Looking at the form of the snow surrounding him, he concluded that an avalanche had dragged him. He realized he was resting against a big boulder. It was likely that it had stopped his descent. He had probably hit his head with it. He passed his hand through his hair and found a bump just above his left ear. That would explain the headache, the dizziness, the blurriness, the daze, and the lack of memory. He noticed that the boulder had several cracks all over, some of them very deep, like small caves. That would explain why he hadn’t suffocated. The cracks had acted like air bubbles.

He freed his legs from the snow and checked his clothes. He was wearing cold-weather pants and boots, but not a cold-weather jacket, snowcap, or gloves. He was just wearing a t-shirt, a light jacket, and a tac-vest. OK, so not the Antartida after all. He realized his attire was military-style and frowned. The frow deepened when he saw the empty holster attached to his leg. Although at the moment he couldn’t remember anything about himself, he had the feeling that he and military equipment were an odd combination. That thought made his mind come back to the most urgent of his concerns. Where was he? What was he doing there? Was he alone, or had someone else been caught by the avalanche? He might have been part of some expedition or something, right? It wasn’t likely that he had ventured in those mountains alone, was it? Unless he was some sort of solitary adventurer, like that guy in that movie. He went climbing solo and got stuck with a rock and had to cut his own arm to free himself. He shivered to the memory. Huh, he couldn’t remember who he was, but he could remember some stupid movie, which helped him in nothing.

He used the boulder as support and he stood up. If he was part of some sort of expedition, there could be someone else around.

“Help! Help!” He shouted the louder he could.

The action provoked a new wave of dizziness, and his stomach rolled. He tried to control the nausea with slow, deep breaths, but he lost the battle. He fell to his knees and threw up painfully. Once his stomach had emptied, he dry heaved for a few minutes until he managed to keep it under control. He recognized the symptoms of a concussion. Huh, another thing he remembered well. Although he hadn’t any specific memory, he knew it wasn’t the first time he had one. Anyway, he needed to move. He stood up, wobbling, and tried again.

“Help! Is anybody there?! Heeeeelp!!!” Only silence replied to him.

Suddenly he heard a noise. A repetitive sound. Tac-tac-tac-tac-tac-tac… he looked in all directions, trying to identify its origin until he realized it was his own teeth chattering. Ok, it didn’t appear to be anyone around, so he established a new priority. The sun was going down. It would be dark soon. He needed to find shelter. But which direction should he take? As he was in the middle of a slope, the logical option was to go up, but up to the right, up to the left, or just straight up? Everything was blurry, but he wasn’t sure if it was because of the concussion or just poor sight. He squinted his eyes and saw a dark patch in the distance, maybe half-mile away to the right. It could be a cave or a rock shelter. He didn’t have many options, so he started to walk.

***

From the control room, Jack watched with growing anxiety while Sam and a team of engineers discussed the best way to dig a tunnel in the snow. The avalanche had totally covered the Stargate on P7X-443. That meant that the pile of snow they needed to dig was a minimum of 22 feet high. According to the information gathered by the MALP, the snow had compacted and it was hard. They agreed that they needed a machine specially designed for that task. Orders were given and phone calls were made. The proper equipment would be there and ready to use in around four hours. Until it arrived at the SGC, there was nothing else they could do.

“It is most difficult, O’Neill,” Teal’c’s deep voice resounded in the room.

“Yeah,” Jack sighed. The uncertainty was killing him. His stomach was tight with a huge knot and the air didn’t seem to find the right way to his lungs. Last night he had discussed their wedding plans with Daniel enthusiastically and they had made love passionately. Now, just a few hours later, his world was crumbling into a million pieces. He could feel an invisible iron fist squeezing his heart and lungs, and it hurt much more than he allowed his face to express.

“DanielJackson is a resourceful individual. I am confident he will manage to stay safe until the rescue team can contact him,” the Jaffa tried to reassure his friend.

“Yeah,” Jack repeated. God, he needed to do something. Being there like that, doing nothing while his future husband might be agonizing in the cold. His body demanded him to go to the gym and beat the crap out of a punching bag, but he didn’t dare to leave the control room in the case by some miracle Daniel would contact them. His heart told him his lover was alive, he could sense it some way, but even if it was the case, he might be badly hurt. If he was unconscious and spent the night in the snow in his light clothes, he would be dead in the morning for sure. God, there wasn’t any way they could find him in time.

“Hang on, Danny, please, hang on,” he said to himself. “Please don’t leave me, not now Danny, please, please, please, don’t dare to leave me. You promised me, you promised me.” He closed his eyes and buried his face into his hands.

Teal’c squeezed his shoulder in comfort. Despite the reassuring words he had said to his friend, the truth was that the chances to find the archaeologist alive went from slim to none. He promised to himself that if the research ended in tragedy and Jack broke, which was a strong possibility, he would be there to pick up the pieces. No way he was going to lose two of his dearest friends at the same time.

***

Daniel was having difficulties in walking upright. His headache had increased tenfold since he had started moving, and he was struggling to keep the nausea at bay. Even so, he had to stop and vomit a couple of times on his way. The softness of the snow made it even harder. Each step buried his legs to the knee, and he needed an extra effort to free his feet every time. He hoped he could arrive at the cave before the sunset. As he moved closer, he realized it was more a sort of rock shelter. No option, I would have to do. It was getting dark fast and there was no way he could find another suitable place in time. Maybe it was because of the fuzziness, but he had the weird feeling that the sun was going down faster than it was supposed to. He also felt how the temperature was plummeting. His clothes wouldn’t help much if it dropped below zero degrees. Dammit. His head hurt badly, his entire body was sore, he didn’t have any supplies, he still had no memories about himself or his whereabouts, and looked like he was going to face a freezing night. Could things go worst?

He reached the shelter just when the sun disappeared behind the mountains. It was no more than a niche in the rock, around fifteen feet wide, ten feet deep, and high enough to keep a sitting position without needing to bend the head.

“Let’s hope it won’t be my burial chamber,” Daniel muttered to himself as he collapsed to the ground and curled up into a tight ball in the deepest corner of the hole.

***

Jack didn’t know what to do with himself. He had been sitting in the control room for one hour waiting for a miracle and nothing. Sam had checked the planet’s data. It was smaller than Earth and had a similar rotation speed, which made its days shorter. According to her calculations, the sun had already set on the planet. Temperatures at night would likely drop to fifteen degrees. Barring by some miracle, his lover wouldn't survive the night. Each minute with no news, his own heart died a little more. His mind drew the picture of Daniel lying on the snow, dying slowly, telling him how sorry he was he hadn’t been able to fulfill his promise. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to erase the image.

“Dammit!” he shouted to nobody in particular, and buried his face into his hands, elbows resting on his knees.

“Here,” a soft voice said next to him.

He lifted his head and saw a cup of coffee in front of his eyes and Sam’s hand holding it. She grabbed a chair and sat next to him.

“Thank you, Carter,” he said, taking the cup and bringing it to his lips.

“You will never be able to call me Sam, will you?” she said, trying to distract his mind for a while.

“Force of habit, I guess,” he shrugged.

“I kinda feel awkward calling you Jack, too. I think I’ll stick with “Sir”, you know, as a nickname.”

Jack let out a sad chuckle.

“He… he’s going to be ok,” she said. “He is Daniel, I mean… he always beats the odds, right?”

“Yeah, he does that,” Jack sighed.

“He’ll be ok, he’ll be ok,” she repeated.

“Thank you, Carter.”

She took his free hand and squeezed it in comfort. He welcomed the reassuring touch, which was reinforced by the sudden appearance of Teal’c’s hand on his shoulder. The Jaffa had been at his side, giving support with his stoic presence the whole time.

And like that, like a solid block build with the strongest of friendships, they continued watching through the glass vacantly.

***

Daniel had been lying in his shelter for half an hour, rubbing his arms furiously in an attempt to warm up. The cold wasn’t doing anything good to his headache and his mind was foggy the same as before, if not more. Suddenly, he thought that maybe there was something useful in his vest. How hadn’t he thought of that before? He strived to sit upright and explored the multiple pockets with shaking hands. The first pocket awarded him with a small flashlight.

“Lucky me,” he snorted.

The result of his search was half chocolate bar, a compass, a multi-tool knife, a packet of kleenex, two blister packs with different pills, a pen, a notebook, and two bullet clips which made him cringe. That explained the holster. He had surely lost the gun during his fall. He took two pills which he recognized as pain killers and dry swallowed them. One of the few memories he still kept, told him it wasn’t a good idea to eat snow as a substitute for water. It would make drop the inner temperature of his body. He should have to melt it first, but how? It wasn’t as if he had matches of anything.

His stomach rumbled. He didn’t remember the last time he had eaten, but he clearly remembered how he had vomited a while ago. He still felt dizzy and disoriented and utterly tired, but it seemed that his stomach had settled… more or less. Besides, it wasn’t a good idea to have any pills on an empty stomach. He took the chocolate bar and nibbled on it. Maybe if he ate a bit, it would help to clear his mind. He ate half of the remaining bar and wrapped the rest. As he did it, he noticed the ring on his finger. He pointed at it with the flashlight, and the moment he squinted his eyes to focus better, an image popped into his mind. It didn’t last enough to keep it, but he was sure it was part of some memory. It was the ring that had triggered the memory, so it must mean something important to him. He took it off to see it closer. It was made of white gold and had a beautiful sapphire embedded in the middle. There was something written inside. He looked at it closer. His sight was still blurry, but he managed to distinguish the letters.

_One heart, one soul, forever._

He gasped, and suddenly his heart began to pound. It was an engagement ring, he was sure of it. He was attached to someone, someone his heart had recognized someway, but his mind couldn’t remember. Someone who might be waiting for him at home, who might be worried sick for his absence.

“Shit!” He exclaimed through clenched teeth.

He closed his fist around the ring and brought it to his heart. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to concentrate, an action that worsened his headache. He loved someone who loved him back with the same passion, he was sure of it. Why the hell couldn’t he remember her? He hoped at least she was safe and surrounded by family and friends.

“Damn it, I don’t know who you are, but I swear I’ll do anything in my hand to come back home, to come back to you.”

***

“Danny!” Jack jerked upright.

“Sir?” Sam startled at the sudden movement. Teal’c just raised his eyebrow.

“I… I… for a second I felt as if Daniel was here,” he said, looking in all directions.

“Nobody has come through the Stargate, O’Neill,” the Jaffa pointed out.

“I know, I know,” Jack panted, “but I felt him. What, you think I'm wacko or something?” he said, seeing Sam’s doubtful expression.

“I believe you and DanielJackson are united by a powerful bond, O’Neill, therefore it is possible that you may have sensed his presence.”

“No, no, it was more than that. It was like he had tried to communicate with me, or something. He’s hurt, Teal’c, I'm sure of it. God, he’s dying alone on that frigging frozen planet. Dammit to hell! How much do we have to wait?!”

Without warning, he shot off his chair and went down the stairs to the gateroom, jumping two steps at a time. From the control room, Sam and Teal’c saw him going directly to Siler, who was discussing some plans with one of the engineers. They couldn’t hear him from there, but his gestures showed clearly that was asking for explanations. Siler tried to calm him down but there was nothing that could ease the former General’s increasing anxiety. Finally, he scrubbed his head out of frustration, and he stormed out of the room.

Jack strode along the SGC corridors, ignoring every living soul that was coming across his way. He made a beeline to the gym, put on a pair of boxing gloves, and released his frustration in a punching bag. Half an hour later, he felt a presence behind him.

“Jack, I’ve got permission from the president. I'm willing to let you join the rescue party, but you need to rest first,” General Landry said.

Jack stopped the punches and turned around. “Hank, how am I going to rest when Daniel is out there…?” He couldn’t finish the sentence, not in front of the General at risk of losing it again.

“Jack, you won’t get a health clearance to go if you don’t try to sleep first,” Landry stated firmly.

“You wouldn’t.” Jack squinted his eyes.

“Oh, yes, I would. I'm not going to lose two good men, Jack. Take a VIP room. You need privacy. I promise we’ll call you if there’s any news.”

Jack nodded weakly, took off the gloves, and headed to the shower. He set the water the colder he could bear. It seemed unfair that he could enjoy a warm shower while his lover, his soul mate, the man who was supposed to become his husband in one week from today, was probably dying freezing under tonnes of snow. He took advantage of the fact that the water would conceal the tears and finally allowed himself to let go

***

Daniel felt the temperature dropping minute by minute, but there wasn’t anything he could do to protect himself from the cold. If it dropped much lower, he would not survive the night. He tried to think of something, but his mind was still foggy the same, and his headache wasn’t getting any better. From where he was curled up, he saw the moon rising from behind the mountains. It was odd. It looked bigger than usual. Maybe the concussion was tricking his mind. He kept watching the moon as it rose. A feeling of dread settled in the pit of his stomach. Something was wrong. It definitely was much bigger than usual. And the color wasn’t good, either. This moon was yellow. Maybe it reflected the sun someway? The dread turned into full panic when a second moon emerged from behind the mountains. This one was smaller, and it had green spots. Daniel wide-opened his eyes and his mouth plummeted to the ground.

“What the hell… looks like I’m not in Kansas anymore.” As soon as that sentence left his mouth, he had the same feeling of attachment as before. His heart began to pound wildly once more. That thing about Kansas, that was something… his lover… that person he was engaged to marry, she was the person who used that expression. He tried to concentrate again, but he couldn’t pinpoint any face. God, his headache was getting worse. The pills had done nothing to ease it. Maybe he should try to sleep. No. Nononono. He couldn’t get asleep, that would be his death sentence. He had to resist. But he felt so tired…

A shiver ran down his spine. Damn, he was getting colder by the minute. He made a mental recall of his situation- he was utterly confused, in pain, hungry and nauseous at the same time, thirsty, and nobody was going to find him since apparently, he was on another planet. Was this what happened to those people who claimed that they had been abducted by aliens? Was this what had happened to him? To make it more difficult, his heart and soul were hurting as well, longing for someone he didn’t even remember. He wasn’t ashamed to admit that he was scared shitless. He was going to die there, alone, far from the people he loved. A deep feeling of sorrow engulfed him. He buried his face into his knees and allowed the tears to fall. He fought to stay awake, but after several minutes, he lost the battle. The raw cold, exhaustion, and hopelessness overcame him and he drifted to restless sleep.

***

Jack was dressing when a deep feeling of terror and sorrow hit him.

“Danny…” he whispered. Something was happening to his lover. Something more beyond the obvious difficulty of being left behind on a frozen planet.

He quickly put on the rest of his clothes and left the locker room in a hurry. He needed to find Teal’c. He thought he might find him in his quarters. He knocked at the door and after a few seconds, his Jaffa friend opened the door.

“T,” the gray-haired man greeted him, his face extremely serious.

“O’Neill, please, come on in.” Teal’c let him in and closed the door behind them. The room was filled with lit candles. “I was preparing to meditate. The situation of DanielJackson troubles my mind greatly. I need to find some peace to be able to help him.”

“Teal’c, he is dying,” Jack stated brokenly. “I mean, right now, Daniel is dying, I can feel it, and there isn’t a damned thing I can do about it.” He stared at his friend with haunted eyes, his body rigid in a futile attempt to control his emotions.

“Please, my friend, have a seat,” the Jaffa invited, pointing to the bed.

Jack didn’t know exactly why he had felt that urgency to find Teal’c, but it was obvious that it hadn’t surprised the Jaffa at all. Jack sat down and let Teal’c handle the situation. What happened next was something Jack hadn’t experienced before. Teal’c guided him on a meditation that seemed to reinforce his bond with Daniel. He pictured his face clearly, and he began to send him messages through his mind. “I love you, Danny, hang on, I will come for you, please hang on, you promised me you’d come back, please, hang on, hang on.” Although it wasn’t an action per se, Jack found the experience strangely comforting. After a few minutes, thick, silent tears rolled down his cheeks.

***

Daniel was dreaming. He was dreaming of warm brown eyes. Warm brown eyes that looked at him with affection. No, not affection. Love. Pure and deep love. Warm brown eyes that were glistening with unshed tears. Tears that finally released, and began to trespass dark, thin eyelashes.

_“I love you, Danny, hang on.”_

Daniel woke up with a start. He gasped as he tried to understand where he was and what was going on. He was freezing. Why was he so cold? He was shaking hard, his teeth were clattering noisily. His head hurt badly, his stomach and back also hurt, his limbs felt numb and heavy, and it was like a thick fog was clouding his brain. He couldn’t think clearly. Why was he hurting so much? Suddenly the situation clicked and a loud, trembling sob escaped his mouth.

_Danny._ That person in the dream had called him Danny. Was it his name? It probably was. It sounded familiar. Maybe he should try to dream again and get some more clues, but he knew that if he had a tiny chance to make it through the night, he couldn’t fall asleep again. He tried to rub his limbs, but he could barely move. The cold was paralyzing and was quickly shutting down what was left of his senses. He struggled to stay awake, but he felt so tired. He knew that if he fell asleep, he wouldn’t wake up again. He felt an invisible dagger stabbing his heart. He tried to clutch his chest, but his hands felt like two blocks of ice. His fingers had folded like claws and he couldn’t move them anymore. He felt as if his soul was ripping apart. He tried desperately to keep his eyes open, but his eyelids felt extremely heavy. God, he didn’t want to die, not there, not like that. He could feel the attachment so clear now, although he still couldn’t remember who he was linked to. He needed to survive. For himself, for her. He knew something very intense was waiting for him at home, he had to survive, he had to survive, he had… when he finally lost the battle and felt his eyes shutting, his last thought was an apology to his lover for failing her… wait a second… her?

“Jack…” he sobbed as unconsciousness claimed him.

***

“Danny…” Jack whispered as he snapped off his meditation and opened his wet eyes slowly. The sharp pain in his heart told him that Daniel was in big trouble. If he wasn’t dead yet, he’d be soon. There wasn’t any way they could find him in time. Maybe the Ancients would give him a third chance and he would ascend again. He had had an important role in the defeat of the Ori a few years ago. That had saved the Ancients. They should be grateful. If he ascended again, he could choose to come back again, right?

“You must rest now, O’Neill,” Teal’c's powerful voice interrupted his line of thought. “In a few hours we’ll be able to go in search of DanielJackson. You will need all your strength.”

Jack said nothing and allowed his friend to help him to lie on the bed. He curled up into a ball facing the wall. He didn’t think he would be able to sleep a wink, but at least he could pretend. Otherwise, Landry wouldn’t let him join the rescue team, and he really needed to be there. He wrapped his arms around his middle and muffled a sob against the pillow.

“Daniel…”

***

Five hours later, Teal’c woke up Jack with a cup of coffee and some news. A tunneling machine had been assembled and in a few minutes, they would start digging. Jack got up in a flash, swallowed the coffee in a single gulp, and followed his Jaffa friend to the control room. Landry was there yet. The machine wasn’t much bigger than a FRED and had a sort of driller attached to the front.

Sam arrived one minute later and sat in front of a monitor. One of the engineers responsible for the machine joined the group.

“We are ready, Sir. We attached a camera so we can see the progress,” he explained. “We'll maneuver the machine by remote control from here.”

“Understood. Walter, dial it up,” Landry ordered.

The veteran sergeant introduced the coordinates, and the Stargate opened without a problem. The engineer maneuvered the controls and Jack held his breath as the machine disappeared through the event horizon.

“We need to locate the DHD first,” Sam pointed out, her steady voice trying to conceal the nervousness.

They got a clear image of the ice cave. The MALP was nowhere in sight. Obviously, stuck where it was, the incoming wormhole had destroyed it.

The driller started to work. Although the snow had compacted, it hadn’t hardened too much, thank God. It was like cutting butter with a hot knife.

In a few minutes, they located the DHD. From the control room, the engineer maneuvered the machine to remove the snow surrounding the dialing device as much as possible. It appeared to be in good shape.

Jack let out the air he was holding with a loud blow. His hammering heart was in his throat. His gaze was glued to the monitor. He didn’t even dare to blink. He couldn’t stop bouncing on his heels, his hands in his pockets clamped into tight fists. The firm presence of Teal’c next to him did nothing to ease his stress.

The driller continued his way. The engineer maneuvered it so it created a fifteen degrees slope on its way. Jack watched in agony as the machine advanced easily in its way. He was so scared of what they would find on the other side, so terrified that they wouldn’t arrive in time to save his partner. His heart was sending him opposite messages. He was convinced that somehow he had survived the avalanche, but although he wanted to believe it with all his heart, he feared that he hadn’t survived the freezing night. He appealed to all his military training to control his nerves on the outside, but deep inside he was absolutely terrified.

Two agonizing hours later, the driller reached the outside. It had been able to dig a two hundred yards long solid tunnel, wide enough so the rescue team could pass half-crouched. It was 5:30 AM in Colorado, but because of the shorter rotation on P6Y-887, the sun was already rising there. The camera on the driller showed clear images of the frozen planet. Everything was calm.

“Ok, people. Colonel Carter, you will lead the rescue team. Take Jack, Teal’c, SG-2, and SG-13. You'll leave as soon as you’re ready.

***

Half an hour later, SG-2, 13, Jack, Sam, and Teal’c were ready at the gateroom, full equipped with cold-weather clothes. The now Colonel Lou Ferreti, still strong leader of SG-2 at his almost fifty-one years old, looked at Jack trying to transmit his support to him. Together with Jack, he was the only survivor from the first mission through the gate, and although he had undervalued Daniel at the very beginning, he soon had become one of his closest friends. He was also very worried about the archaeologist and couldn’t wait to find out about his fate. He tried to be optimistic, but everything indicated that if they find him, they would bring him back in a body bag. Jack nodded at him in acknowledgment and then fixed his gaze on the forming wormhole. He swallowed the lump in his throat as together with the other ten members of the SGC walked along the metallic ramp and disappeared into the event horizon, every one of them carrying a heavy heart.

Once on P6Y-887, they didn’t waste their time. They walked half crouched the two hundred yards of the icy tunnel the fastest they could. Once they reached the surface, the sun had already risen, and they had good visibility. Bearing in mind SG-13 intel, Sam and Jack organized the search. If Daniel had survived the avalanche and wasn’t too hurt, it was logical to think that he had tried to reach the Stargate. Seeing that it had been buried, the logical thinking was that he had sheltered in the cave with the alien device. Jack and SG-13 minus captain Wells headed there. SG-2 and Teal’c would be in charge of scanning the area both with probes and metal detectors. Wells stayed with Sam. She had carried a drone among the equipment. In later years, they had proved to be more practical than the UAV. They were much smaller, lighter, easily controlled with simple remote control, and they didn’t need a launch ramp. The drone was equipped with a high definition camera and temperature sensors which operated at a high range. If Daniel was alive, they would receive his body heat. Wells guided the drone eighty feet over the frozen surface and began the scanning, while Sam was in charge of watching the monitor that showed the data.

***

The aftermaths of the avalanche made the walk more difficult during the first half of the way, but anyway, the route to the Furling’s cave was clear. Jack was looking frantically in all directions while he walked, hoping to see some clue about his lover’s whereabouts, but until the moment, nothing. As soon as they saw the cave entrance, he ran. His heart pounded wildly, the knot in his stomach tightened painfully, but he ran as he had never run before. As soon as he reached the entrance, he started shouting Daniel’s name. The pounding of his heartbeat echoed in his ears as he searched in every corner at sight. Nothing. He entered the main cavity, the one that contained the alien device. He saw some movement at the corner of his eye and a glimmer of hope grew in his heart. It plummeted beyond the floor when he saw the source of the movement. A group of six goat-alike animals was staring at him with curiosity.

“Dammit,” the gray-haired man swore. “Daniel! Daniel! Danny!” Only the echo replied to his plea. His hope dropped another notch.

Dixon stepped into the cavern. “He is not in the caves,” he stated sadly. “We checked the rest of the rooms.”

Jack closed his eyes in an attempt to compose himself and nodded weakly. The group went outside, dismay written all over their faces. If he wasn’t there, which was the only shelter Daniel knew on the planet, he could be anywhere. As long as he had survived the avalanche, which Dixon and the rest of SG-13 thought highly unlikely. Not that they were going to tell Jack, of course, not if they wanted to live to see another day.

***

Near the Stargate, Sam wasn’t having better luck. Until the moment, the only signs of life the drone had detected were too small to belong to Daniel. Suddenly, bigger colored forms appeared on the Colonel’s monitor.

“Captain, I’ve got something!” She exclaimed to Wells. “Move fifty yards to the left!”

Wells did as ordered. The monitor showed several life forms of human size. Was the planet inhabited after all? Sam’s stomach flip-flopped to the idea. Maybe the natives had found Daniel. There was a possibility.

“Please, please, he muttered to herself. “Let it be Daniel.”

As Wells maneuvered the drone towards the target and the camera showed the source of the heat spots, Sam’s heart skipped a beat.

Goats

They were a flock of very big, very hairy alien goats. Sam’s used all her military training to block the sob that threatened to escape her throat. Simon saw the pain in her eyes and feared the worst.

“Colonel?” he asked with a tremulous voice.

“They are goats. Just… goats,” Sam replied softly.

“Yeah, they are plenty of them on the planet,” Wells confirmed, his voice showing his disappointment.

“Keep searching, captain,” she ordered.

“Yes, ma’am.”

***

Teal’c and his group weren’t having better luck either. Their search had produced no results so far. All of a sudden, Ferretti raised his voice.

“I’ve got something!”

Teal’c ran to the Colonel’s position. His metal detector was blinking. The Jaffa began to dig furiously. His eyes wide-opened when he saw the object concealed under the snow.

Daniel’s beretta.

Teal’c quickly pressed the button of his radio. “O’Neill!”

“Teal’c, go ahead!” his friend replied anxiously.

“We have found DanielJackson’s gun. It was buried under the snow. We will proceed to search the area thoroughly.

“This confirms that he was dragged by the avalanche and he’s still on the planet,” Jack replied, alarmed. “Give me your position. I’m coming!”

***

Half an hour later, Jack had joined SG-2 in their search. Ferretti's team hadn’t found anything else so far.

“We found the gun right there,” Teal’c pointed out with his finger. “That is the limit of the avalanche. It appears that DanielJackson might have managed to dodge the major wave, but not enough to escape completely. The avalanche must have dragged him down the slope.”

“Carter!” Jack called his friend through the radio. “What’s your status?”

“Sir, we’ve detected several life forms, but in all the cases they have turned out to be small flocks of goats.

“Bring your doohickey here. SG-2 found Daniel’s gun. Looks like the snow dragged him down a slope!”

“On our way!” she replied firmly.

At that moment the drone approached what seemed to be a rock shelter at the foot of a hill, but as soon as Sam got a visual of the place, her hope died a little more. Just another bunch of sleeping goats.

“Captain, move the drone to SG-2 position,” she ordered. “And let’s go there. It looks like Daniel was dragged in that direction.”

***

The drone scanned the area thoroughly but found nothing. Six hours on the planet and they had come up empty. Daniel was long dead, all body heat extinguished from his corpse. There wasn’t any other explanation. There was no way to know how far the avalanche had dragged him. If he had survived the fall and had died later, they should have found his body lying on the snow or in one of the caves or shelters that were on the way to the Stargate. So the only logical theory was that he was buried under the snow. His body could be anywhere. It was a needle in a haystack. Only Jack refused to believe that his lover was gone.

“I’m calling the search off,” Sam said with a heavy heart.

The colonel’s words were a direct punch to Jack’s gut. “No! You can’t do that!” Jack protested adamantly.

“He is dead, there is no other explanation,” Sam’s voice cracked.

“No!” Jack shouted. “No! I won’t believe it! No!” God, his heart was hurting so much, and he couldn’t breathe, but no way in hell he was going to give up yet.

“The drone scanned a radio of ten kilometers. If he was alive, it would have detected him, even if he was on a shelter, or a cave, even a crevasse. He’s gone. I’m calling the search off,” she repeated with watery eyes.

“Dammit, Carter, we can’t just leave! He has to be here somewhere!” Jack felt like screaming.

“I’m sorry, Sir, but the evidence is solid,” Sam insisted. “We can send another team with the proper equipment in order to retrieve the body.”

“Why do you always do that?” Jack asked with a deep frown, anger overpowering the grief for a moment.

“What do you mean?” She asked in confusion.

“When he ascended, you kept insisting in mourning him as if he was really dead, gone forever. I think this is the reason he never visited you. You believed he was truly gone. And the second time, when the replicator killed him, you insisted again and again on having a memorial service. Why?” Jack's tone was accusatory.

“I… I… we knew nothing about him in a week, it was logical to believe that…”

“Can’t you for once in your life to put aside your logical arguments?” Jack interrupted her.” It’s Daniel we’re talking about, dammit!”

“What, do you think I don’t care?! Do you think calling the search off doesn’t break my heart?!” She glared at him. “I may not be in love with him, but I love him, too, you know? He is family, he’s… he’s like a brother to me, he has always been. And I wish he was ok, but the evidence says otherwise.” Her voice cracked at the last word.

“Dammit, I can’t just give up! I can’t!” Jack yelled in absolute despair. His soul was screaming. He couldn’t accept it, he just couldn’t. It hurt too much, too much…

They held each other’s gaze for several seconds, and Sam’s heart shattered into pieces at the view of utter devastation in his friend’s eyes.

“One hour,” she said weakly. “If we don’t find him, we go back home and send a retrieval team.”

“Thanks… thanks,” Jack whispered, not trusting his voice anymore. Never in his entire life had been so hard to follow someone else’s orders.

***

Daniel was dreaming again of the warm brown eyes. But this time, the framing grew wider and revealed a charming smile. Silver hair crowned a handsome, mature man’s face. Thick eyebrows, one of them scarred, a straight nose, a powerful jaw, firm cheekbones, thin although desirable lips, a small dimple on the chin…

_“Danny, I love you, forever,”_ the man said.

And then he reached out a hand and grabbed Daniel’s nape and pulled him into a long and gentle kiss. Then he pulled away, held Daniel’s hand, and put a ring on his finger. Daniel felt his heart swelling, an enormous feeling of love spreading all over his body. Then the man took his hand and guided him along a metallic ramp. The ramp led to the most fascinating object Daniel had ever seen- a huge metal ring, around twenty feet high, and wavering in the middle, a shimmering pool of what looked like blue water, although he knew it wasn’t really water. And the man smiled at him again.

_“Let’s go,”_ he said.

But Daniel stopped in his tracks. He was afraid. He didn’t know what would happen once he stepped into the pool. The man smiled at him again and told him it was ok, that everything would be alright, that he didn’t have to be afraid, that once they went through the pool, they would be together forever, the way they had always wanted to be. And Daniel got lost in those eyes and that smile, and he knew the man spoke the truth, and he knew he could trust him because everything in that man radiated love. And Daniel felt his heart expanding even more, and he trusted and let the man guide him through the pool. And the moment he stepped into the shimmering water that wasn’t water, he felt raw cold piercing his skin, making its way toward his insides, but he could still hear the man telling him to trust him, to hang on, to never give up, that he would always be there for him, because he loved him more than life itself, and would never let anything happen to him, and would protect him for the rest of his life. And the cold started to fade and was substituted by a warm touch. And Daniel felt cherished, loved, and protected, and he wished to follow this man to the infinite of the universe, and he knew he never had been so sure of anything in his life. This man was his life, his heart, his soul, and he would do whatever was necessary to go back to him.

“Jack!” Daniel jerked awake with a gasp and sat bolt upright, panting.

He buried his face into his hands as everything came to him in a rush. He shuddered at the sudden load of feelings that invaded his heart. It was overwhelming. Jack was the man he loved, he remembered it now. He was Daniel Jackson, archaeologist, linguist, anthropologist, intergalactic explorer, engaged to ex-General Jack O’Neill, and he loved him with all his passion.

“God, Jack…” he could feel his heart hammering against his ribcage like crazy.

He took a deep breath and he considered his situation. Aliens hadn’t abducted him and dumped him on that planet. He had come here through the Stargate to join SG-13 on their mission. His mind went back to Jack. Their wedding was in a week. He had promised him he’d be at the altar, safe and sound.

Suddenly a thought hit him. The last thing he remembered was that he was surrendering to the pain and cold. He had closed his eyes, not expecting to open them again. Now, the throbbing pain in his head was still there, he still felt dazed and queasy, but he wasn’t cold anymore. Actually, he was feeling quite warm. He unburied his face and looked around.

“Holy… shit!”

It was the goats. One of the flocks of goats had sheltered next to him for the night, and he was cocooned in their warm, long hair. They must have arrived just after he had lost consciousness. The docile animals had saved his life. They had kept him warm and had prevented the incoming hypothermia. Luckily, Daniel had his nose congested because he suspected that at close range they didn’t smell too well.

The animals saw Daniel shifting and looked at him lazily. There were six of them. One by one, they stood on their four legs and left the shelter slowly. Daniel crawled on his knees and followed them. He hurt all over and his movements were clumsy. He peered out and realized the sun was already very high. It probably was past midday. Strange. Wild goats usually got up at dawn. One might think that they were protecting him consciously, waiting for him to wake up. Well, they were alien goats, after all. Maybe their intelligence was above the average. For a goat, of course.

One of the goats looked at him before jumping off the shelter. Daniel reached out a hand and stroke his head gently.

“Thank you, friends. You saved my life,” he smiled. “I owe you one. I promise if I come back to this planet again, I’ll bring you a tonne of straw, or roots, or whatever you eat.”

The goat bleated briefly and trotted towards its family. Daniel sat on the edge of the shelter and pondered his options. He needed to find the Stargate, but he was completely disoriented. His headache wasn’t helping to focus, either. He remembered the painkillers in his pocket. He dry-swallowed a couple of them and then nibbled a bit of his remaining power bar. A wave of nausea hit him and stopped eating. He took some deep breaths to settle his rolling stomach, not an easy task with a congested nose.

He looked at his hands. They were red, flaky, and felt numb, but fortunately, the goats had protected him before they suffered severe frostbite. His face felt taut, so he guessed it didn’t look much better. His gaze focused on the ring on his finger. From what he remembered, SG-13 had made it to the gate before the avalanche struck them, so the SGC was surely aware of what had happened. God, Jack would probably be worried sick. Maybe he thought he was dead. He couldn’t imagine what he was going through. Damn it. It had supposed to be a lightning mission without risks.

“God, Jack, I’m so sorry,” he whispered to himself. “Please, don’t worry for me, I’m ok and I’m coming back to you, please, don’t give up on me. I’m coming back, I promise.”

But shouldn’t they have sent a rescue team? How come they hadn’t located him yet? Maybe there was a problem with the Stargate? It was useless to stay there questioning. Daylight wouldn't last much longer. He better started moving. He needed to find the gate, but what direction?

Daniel jumped out of the shelter and looked around. The landscape was unknown to him. His fuzzy mind couldn’t distinguish if he had to go up or down, right or left. Obviously, the avalanche had dragged him down, so the obvious answer was that he had to go up, but in what direction. All the mountains looked the same. He needed some point of reference. He advanced some yards and turned around to observe the peaks. One of them looked familiar. He was quite sure that the Furling’s cave was at the foot of that peak. It was quite far to the left.

Dammit. That meant that after being dragged by the avalanche, he had chosen the wrong direction. He should have gone to the left instead of the right. The Stargate was at least two miles from there. If a rescue team had come, they wouldn’t have searched that far.

Daniel started to walk, or rather wobble on the soft snow. He felt terribly thirsty, but he reminded himself that eating snow was a terrible idea. Anyway, he took a small piece. He pressed it until it turned into a sort of ice cube and suck it. His cracked lips glued painfully to the ice, and he grunted. With the help of his tongue, he managed to free himself from the traitorous cube. Yep, definitely a terrible idea.

***

Jack and the others slid probe after probe through the soft snow with no results. Sam had conceded him one hour, and he was going to use every second of his time. With his heart constricted and on the verge of tears, he struck and stuck his probe over and over again, a piece of his soul dying every time the stick found nothing more than snow, and at the same time praying that he wouldn’t find his fiancé because that only would mean that Sam was right, that Daniel was dead, buried under the snow. If they didn’t find him, there was a chance that he had escaped the avalanche after all. But if that was what had happened, where was he? Maybe Sam’s fabulous drone had missed him. Maybe it didn’t work as perfectly as she thought. Maybe he had sheltered deep in a cave where the drone’s sensor couldn’t reach him. Any thought was a valid possibility to Jack. Anyone but the thought that his fiancé was dead. He couldn’t deal with this one. He would keep searching and searching until he had solid evidence. As long as they didn’t find the body, Jack kept the hope that he was alive somewhere. He had to stick to that though. Otherwise, he would go completely crazy. If there wasn’t any hope for Daniel Jackson, then sure as hell there wasn’t any for Jack O’Neill either. His chest hurt, his arms hurt, he could barely breathe, his entire body was shaking in despair, but he kept sticking the probe without rest.

***

Daniel had been walking for half an hour. He was exhausted and his headache had worsened. It was never a good idea to wander around with a concussion, but he didn’t have any choice. The fact that he had eaten just half of a power bar and hadn’t drunk a drop of water in so many hours didn’t help either. Besides, his sunglasses were long gone, and the reflection of the sun on the white snow was burning his clear eyes.

A new wave of dizziness sent him to his knees. The touch of the icy snow burned his hands. He stood up slowly and staggered, but he managed to stay upright. He didn’t even have a stick to balance himself. Apparently, on that planet, there were only mountains, snow, and some low bushes. He took a few wobbly steps, and he tripped. Ok, maybe a minute of rest wouldn’t kill him. He stayed on his knees, panting hard. At least, his legs and feet were well protected against the planet's conditions. He closed his eyes and focused on Jack. They were supposed to marry in one week. He thought of the night they had got engaged, how scared they both were, and how they had made love passionately afterward. Right now there was nothing he wished more in the world than becoming Jack’s husband. He loved him so, so much, that the single idea of not seeing him again was inconceivable. He needed to keep moving.

But… what if there was a problem with the Stargate and he couldn’t go back home? That certainly would explain the lack of a rescue team. His heart hurt deeply for his lover and for himself. After so many years of fight and pain, they were living finally a stage without major disasters. He just wanted to go home and cuddle with his fiancé under the covers, to stroke his fit body and love him until the end of time. He could do with just small pleasures for a while. But this wasn’t the time to dwell on the unfairness of the situation. He had to get up and continue his way. He took a deep breath and struggled to push himself upright. He only needed to picture Jack at the end of the way to get the needed strength.

“I'm coming, love, please don’t give up on me.”

***

The hour passed and none of the members of the SGC had got any clue about Daniel’s whereabouts. Sam approached Ferretti.

“Colonel, gather your men. We are going home,” she said with a strained voice.

Lou looked at her with sad eyes and then averted his gaze to Jack. “He isn’t going to take this well.”

“I know. But we’re his friends and we'll be there for him,” she said, emotion betraying her voice.

Ferretti nodded and went in search of his men. Sam repeated the order to Colonel Dixon. SG-2 and 13 had started walking to the gate when she went to meet Jack. He continued sticking his probe furiously, Teal’c working near him.

“Sir, I'm calling the search off. We're going home,” she stated nervously.

Jack kept working as if he hadn’t heard her.

“Sir…”

“No.”

“Jack…”

“No!” his voice cracked, but he continued moving.

“Jack, please.”

He suddenly stopped and sank to his knees, utterly exhausted both physically and emotionally. “No…” a trembling sob escaped his mouth.

He bowed his head, and his shoulders began to shake. Silent tears splashed on the snow. It couldn’t be over, it couldn’t… Sam’s heart broke at the view. She had never seen him like this, not even when Daniel ascended. He had always been able to conceal well his deepest emotions, but this time it was too much. The physical exhaustion added to the mental and emotional toll had broken him completely. This was a man whose heart and soul had been shattered beyond repair. The moment she had ordered to call off the search, Jack O’Neill's world had ended. And at that moment Sam realized that today he had lost not one but two of her dearest friends. Maybe they would bring Jack’s body back home, but his heart and soul would stay on that planet forever.

***

Daniel felt the invisible dagger ripping his heart again. He clutched his chest and fell on his knees. He stayed immobile for several seconds, struggling to bring air to his lungs.

“Jack…” he whispered. “God, Jack, don’t give up, God, don’t give up, I'm right here, right here…”

Something told him he needed to hurry. He stood up quickly and sped up.

***

Teal’c kneeled next to Jack, put his muscular hand on his shoulder, and squeezed it slightly.

“O’Neill, we must return to Earth. We have lost this battle.”

Jack didn’t move, he just shook his head in denial.

“Jack, please, please, don’t make it more difficult than it is, please,” Sam begged.

He lifted his head and met his friends’ watery eyes. Even Teal’c was fighting back his tears. He realized they were hurting for him as much as for Daniel. He opened his mouth but couldn’t find more words. He knew it was useless to deny it any longer. He felt how raw sorrow consumed his innards as he allowed Teal’c to pull him up.

The three friends made their way to the Stargate in silence, each one of them mourning Daniel in private. It felt like a funeral procession. Once they arrived at the entrance of the tunnel, Jack stopped for a few seconds and looked back, as if expecting a last-minute miracle.

_“Goodbye, Danny.”_ He sent his silent message to the inhospitable landscape. Wherever Daniel had gone, he hoped his spirit could hear his words. _“God, baby, I love you, I love you so much. I can’t go on without you. We’ll meet soon again, I promise, and we’ll be together, forever.”_ He took a trembling breath and followed Sam and Teal’c into the tunnel.

***

Daniel was running out of strength. Something in his heart was telling him he really needed to hurry, but every step was a painful agony. The sun was burning his already marred face and hands. He licked his cracked lips in an attempt to moisten them, but his tongue felt like sandpaper. He was so thirsty. It was like being stuck in the sea, so much water and not being able to drink it. He had been walking for more than an hour now, and his headache had worsened tenfold since the moment he had woken up. The painkillers had made nothing to lessen it. His sight was getting blurrier by the minute. He wasn’t sure he would make it to the gate before unconsciousness claimed him again. He had barely survived the night in the shelter. He wouldn’t survive another one in the open sky. His only hope was to reach the gate, and if there was some problem there, he needed to keep enough strength to make it to the Furling’s cave. He knew he wasn’t far now, he could recognize some of the distinctive features of the landscape. He fell again, but he couldn’t afford the luxury of resting. He pulled himself up and continued staggering.

***

Jack, Sam, and Teal’c arrived at the Stargate in time to see SG-2 and 13 stepping through the event horizon. Sam told Teal’c to go through too, and the moment Jack and the Colonel stayed alone in front of the gate, he stood in front of her and stared at her intently.

Their eyes locked, and what she saw in his gaze wasn’t the sorrow she was expecting. It was sheer determination. She frowned in confusion and opened her mouth to say something when, suddenly, he grabbed her shoulders, turned her around so she would face the wormhole, and shoved her forward. The next she knew was that she was wobbling on the metallic ramp of the gateroom, in front of the stunned looks of General Landry, Teal’c, and the rest of the personnel. The Jaffa ran toward the colonel and assisted her to steady.

“Are you injured, ColonelCarter?” he asked in concern.

“No, no, I’m ok,” she panted.

At that moment, the Stargate shut down.

“What happened? Where is Jack?” Landry hurried to ask.

“Oh, boy.”

***

As soon as he pushed Sam through the gate, Jack ran to the surface. He didn’t care about what Sam’s sophisticated doohickeys said. Daniel had to be somewhere. He didn’t want to believe he was gone, and he wouldn’t, not until he found his body to prove it. As soon as he exited the tunnel, he started to shout at the top of his lungs while looking all around.

“Daniel! Daniel! Where are you, you son of a bitch?! You promised me, dammit! You promised me! Daniel! God, Danny, Dan-ny…” His voice cracked at the last word and he plummeted to the snowed ground. “You promised me… you promised me…”

What was he going to do? Start to shovel the entire mountain? Sam and Teal’c would come back before he had time to do anything. But he felt he owed Daniel to try it, and he wouldn’t give up until someone dragged him back to Earth kicking and struggling. He foresaw a future in a padded cell because he knew that he would never get over it. Hopelessness and despair spread through every one of his cells. He felt like he was going crazy. Maybe he had already lost what was left of his shattered mind because what he saw when he raised his head, could be nothing more than a mirage, a figment of his imagination.

Someone was staggering towards him. He squinted his eyes and his heart skipped a beat. It couldn’t be. He wanted to believe it with all his soul that what he was seeing was true, but he was so afraid that it was just a mirage… He stood up and took some tentative steps towards the figure. It appeared to be around one hundred yards in front of him. It clearly was the figure of a man.

“Daniel?” he whispered with hope.

Although it was impossible that the figure had listened to him, the man lifted his head and looked toward his direction. Then he stopped, wobbled for a couple of seconds, sank to his knees, and collapsed flat on his face.

“Oh, God. Danny!” Jack started running as fast as he could in the soft snow. His heart was beating wildly. “Oh, God, please, let this be real, let this be real.”

Jack got near enough to distinguish an SGC uniform clearly. “Danny! Danny! God, baby, I’m here, I’m here! Danny!”

He kneeled next to the body. His heart was in his mouth and was beating so fast that he thought it was going to burst at any moment. He touched the body, and oh, God, it was solid, it was real.

“Danny, Danny, Danny…!”

He rolled him on his back and met drowsy blue eyes staring at him.

“Jack…” Daniel whispered. Purple lips turned up into a weak smile.

The older man thought it was the most beautiful view he had ever seen. His fiancé was alive. Leave it to Daniel Jackson to beat all the odds. He pulled him into a sitting position and engulfed him in a crushing hug.

“Oh, my God, Danny, I knew you were alive, God, Carter almost convinced me you were gone, but I knew it, I knew it, God, Danny, I love you, I love you so much, never you dare to scare me like this again, Da-ny…” Jack chocked and he started to sob uncontrollably while clutched his lover as if he was a lifeline. And, indeed, he was. No way that Jack had survived his loss.

With what was the last of his strength, Daniel raised his arms and wrapped them around his partner’s body. “Jack…” his weak voice cracked. He wanted to add something more, but he was so exhausted and shocked that he couldn’t find his voice.

Jack broke the hug and made a quick assessment of the archaeologist's condition.

“Daniel, are you hurt?” he asked, alarmed by the younger man’s disheveled aspect.

“Jack… dream?” Daniel said, barely able to fill his lungs.

“No, baby, you’re not dreaming,” Jack said with deep emotion. New tears escaped the corner of his eyes. “Please, tell me where it hurts.”

“No hurt, Jack… ‘m fine,” the younger man said between short gasps.

“You don’t look fine, Danny, please, tell me the truth, where are you hurt?” Jack insisted adamantly.

“Jack?” the archaeologist stopped to catch some air.

“What is it, Danny?”

“I… I don’t feel so good.” Right after that, his eyes rolled back and his body went limp into the older man’s arms.

“Danny!” Jack lay him flat on the snow and checked his pulse with shaking hands. It was there, a bit too fast and weak, but it was there. He needed to take him to the SGC ASAP.

“O’Neill!” Teal’c’s voice resounded at his back.

Jack had never been so happy to hear his Jaffa friend’s baritone voice. He turned around and saw Sam, Teal’c, and SG-2 running towards them.

“Teal’c! Carter! I need help here! Hurry!”

When they arrived there, they stopped dead in their tracks. Sam gasped and covered his mouth with his hands, eyes wide-open in shock. “Oh, my God! Daniel!”

“He’s hurt!” Jack exclaimed with fear. “I don’t know what’s wrong with him, he was conscious one second ago! We have to take him home!”

“I will carry him,” Teal’c stated firmly.

He kneeled next to his friend, slid one arm under his knees and the other one under his back, and lifted him as if he was a small child. Daniel didn’t even stir. He was completely out cold. Teal’c jogged as fast as he could in the traitorous terrain, Jack and Sam hot on his heels.

“Colonel, dial the gate! Tell them to get ready a med team!” Sam shouted to Ferretti, who was watching the scene, mouth agape like the rest of his teammates.

SG-2 ran to the tunnel. It wasn’t easy for Teal’c to carry Daniel half crouched along the icy corridor, but the motivation was big enough. They all stepped into the wormhole after Ferretti and his team. A gurney was waiting for them at the bottom of the ramp. Teal’c laid Daniel and the medical team whisked him away to the infirmary. No one tried to move Jack away from his side. He ran next to the gurney, and as he needed to pass the post-mission evaluation, he entered the infirmary as well. Dr. Lam ordered him to take a seat on one bed while she and her team assessed Daniel’s condition. He watched with full attention what was happening around his fiancé. Dr. Lam didn’t seem too alarmed. This was a good sign, right? Unless, oh, God, unless she was thinking there was nothing she could do for him. Nonono, he wasn’t going to go there. Daniel was going to be ok, right?

Jack watched with relief as a nurse attached an IV to the archaeologist's wrist. Dr. Lam continued showing calm and Jack relaxed a bit. After a few minutes, she approached him.

“My guess is that he is going to be fine,” she said calmly.

“Your guess?”

“Well, he is dehydrated and has some nasty bruises, but it seems there aren't any broken bones or internal bleeding.”

“Then why is he unconscious?” Jack asked impatiently.

“He has a bump on his head, so he probably has a concussion. We’ll make an MRI and a TC SCAN to be on the safe side. We can only guess what happened, but we don’t know it for sure. We’ll know more when he wakes up. Now I suggest you have your examination and rest for a while. We should have all the results within the hour. Oh, by the way,” Caroline took something from her pocket and offered it to Jack. “I’m sure you want to keep this safe. You can put it back on its place once Dr. Jackson’s hands are healed.”

Jack took the object. It was Daniel’s engagement ring. He looked at it in bewilderment for a few seconds, trying to push away the thoughts of how near they had been to lose everything. Then he nodded his thanks as he watched the gurney carrying his lover being wheeled out of the main ward.

Sam, Teal’s, and SG-2 came into the infirmary for their post-mission examinations. As soon as they saw their friend, the two former members of SG-1 approached him.

“O’Neill, what is the condition of DanielJackson?” Teal’c asked in concern.

“The doc thinks he’s going to be ok. They are going to run some test to be sure.” Jack looked completely worn out.

Sam stared at him with haunted eyes. “Sir… Jack… I… I don’t know what to say, God, I’m so sorry, I thought… God, we left him behind and it was my call, I… I…”

“I guess your infallible doohickeys aren’t so infallible after all, huh?” he said, trying to keep a neutral expression.

“I… I really can’t understand how we missed him. How am I going to be sure of anything if the readings I get can be wrong?”

“Have you ever tried to follow your gut feeling? You know, instinct, feminine intuition?”

“You knew all along. You knew he was alive, and I just didn’t listen to you. How did you know?”

“Because I was alive,” he shrugged with a sad smile.

Sam was struck by the expression of feelings that he could read in Jack’s eyes. This was the gaze she had read about many times, but she had never seen. The gaze that was described in the romantic novels she used to read when she was a teenager, before her mother died and the word love got a new meaning because daring to love at that level involved the risk to suffer the unimaginable. This was the gaze of someone absolutely committed, of someone who had found his only true and endless love, the love only shared by authentic soulmates. She realized that the bond between her two friends was so strong that they lived as one, and in the end, they would die as one. She had almost destroyed it with her pragmatic, scientific mind. A single tear rolled down her cheek.

Jack saw realization written all over her face. “Do you understand now?” Jack asked softly.

Sam’s throat closed, making her impossible to talk, so she just nodded weakly.

***

One hour later, two nurses brought a still unconscious Daniel back to the main ward and placed him on the bed. Jack hadn't moved an inch from the bed he'd sat on after his own examination.

“Dr. Lam will be with you in a moment,” a nurse informed the former General. “Dr. Jackson appears to be starting to regain consciousness, you can talk to him.”

Jack nodded his thanks, sat on the chair at his fiancé’s bedside, took his left hand, and entwined their fingers together. Daniel’s hand was pale and cold and felt rubbery to the touch.

“Hey, Daniel, you can wake up now,” Jack said while stroking his skin with his thumb. “You’re safe, c’mon, show me your baby blues. You’ve had us all very worried, you know. C’mon, Danny, wake up, you’re home, you’re safe.”

Daniel’s fingers squeezed Jack’s hand weakly and his eyes fluttered slightly.

“C’mon, Danny, open your eyes, I’m right here, you’re safe and you’re gonna be ok,” Jack encouraged him.

The archaeologist finally cracked open his eyes and looked drowsily at the face that was hovering over him.

“J’ck,” he croaked.

“Hey,” the older man smiled. “How are you feeling?”

Daniel frowned in concentration as if trying to get the correct answer. “Thirsty,” he finally said.

Jack grabbed a glass of water with a straw and approached it to his lover’s mouth. He held his head upright so he could drink.

“You know the drill, small sips,” Jack reminded him.

After a few sips, Jack guided his head to the pillow.

“What happ’ned?” Daniel asked, a bit more aware now.

“You tell me,” Jack shrugged and made a face.

Daniel closed his eyes again to help him remember. He opened them and locked gazes with his partner.

“Avalanche.”

Jack nodded, and his expression became grave. “Everybody believed you were dead. I thought I had lost you for good.”

“Everybody, you said. But not you,” Daniel observed.

“No, not me. Even with all those pieces of evidence against me, deep inside I knew you were alive.”

“You saved my life,” Daniel whispered with emotion.

“Well, you know me and my complex of the knight in shining armor,” Jack joked. “I’d give you a kiss, but your lips aren’t very appealing right now.”

“That bad, huh?”

Jack wrinkled his nose. Dr. Lam arrived at that very moment.

“Welcome back, Dr. Jackson,” she smiled. “How are you feeling? And don’t say fine. The truth, please.”

“You see? I told you. She’s worse than Janet,” Jack teased her.

“And I have bigger needles, Mr. O’Neill. So, Dr. Jackson?”

“As if a truck had run over me,” Daniel replied sincerely.

“Can you be a bit more specific?”

“Headache, queasy stomach, basically whole body ache and thirsty.”

“How is the pain, from one to ten?”

“Eleven?”

“Can you tell me what happened?” she asked as she injected something into the IV.

Daniel explained to them his ordeal, how seeing that he wouldn’t reach the Stargate in time, he had dumped his backpack and tried to dodge the avalanche without entire success. He remembered being pushed by the snow wave and nothing more after he regained consciousness buried under the snow. He told them about the memory loss and how he managed to get shelter for the night.

“Jesus Christ!” Jack exclaimed in shock. “That’s why you didn’t try to reach the Stargate! You didn’t remember it even existed!”

“Imagine when I saw the two moons,” Daniel grimaced. “I kinda freaked out for a while.”

“I can imagine,” Dr. Lam said. “So, how did you get your memory back?”

“Actually, it was thanks to Jack,” Daniel replied with a smile and stared at his partner lovingly. “I saw the ring on my finger and I knew I was attached to someone, but I couldn’t remember you for a while. I’m so sorry, Jack.”

“Hey, it’s not your fault, that happens when you have a bump in your head the size of a watermelon,” Jack shrugged.

Daniel looked at his hand, searching for the reassurance the ring gave him. “The ring! Where’s my ring! Oh, God, I can’t have lost it!”

“Hey, hey, it’s ok, I’ve got it,” Jack hurried to say digging into his pocket and showing his lover’s the precious jewel.

Caroline gave the archaeologist an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, Dr. Jackson, but your hands have to heal first before I’ll let you wear it again.”

Daniel took it and clamped his fist around it and brought it to his heart. He sighed in relief and continued telling his story. He told them how he had dreamed about Jack, how that fact had triggered his memories, and how the goats had saved his life keeping him warm.

Jack froze.

“Well, all I can say is that you’re a very lucky man, Dr. Jackson,” Caroline pointed out. “If it weren’t for the return of your memories and those animals, you would be dead right now.”

“Yeah, I guess I can’t complain under the circumstances.”

“Your injuries aren’t too severe, bearing in mind all you went through. The tests confirmed that you have a concussion, but there isn’t any abnormal swelling or brain damage. You have a collection of nasty bruises but no broken bones or internal injuries, either. You were severely dehydrated when you arrived here, so we started to give you a saline solution. You also have some ice burns on your hands and face, but there isn’t severe tissue damage, so they should heal in a few days. We applied some ointment to speed the process. The concussion, the dehydration and the fact that you had barely eaten in twenty-four hours contribute to the discomfort in your stomach. Your whole body will be sore for a few days, but all in all, you’ll make a full recovery.

“When can I go home?” Daniel asked eagerly.

“I want to monitor that concussion for a couple of days. If everything is ok by then, you’ll be able to go home. For now, just rest and try to drink as much water as you can, but just small sips every time. You can try some soft food later.”

“Thanks,” Daniel nodded, and she left for her office.

Daniel looked at Jack, surprised that he hadn’t said anything for a while. He had bowed his head and was bouncing his knee nervously.

“Jack?”

The older man didn’t answer. He seemed to be lost in his thoughts.

“Jack, what’s wrong?” Daniel asked in concern. “Did you hear Caroline? I’m going to be ok.”

“Not thanks to us… to me,” the former General shook his head.

“Jack, what are you talking about? You found me, you saved my life.” Why was his partner sounding so upset? He would be dying or already dead by now if it weren’t for him.

Jack raised his head and Daniel met pain-filled eyes. “You saved yourself. We left you behind.”

Daniel squeezed his partner’s hand. “Hey, hey, I’m sure you did anything you could. I just walked in the wrong direction, there is no way you could have guessed where I was.”

Jack shook his head again. “Carter and Wells had that… drone, you know. It’s equipped with heat sensors. The data they received showed the flocks of goats. It never occurred to us that you could be among them. We should have checked it. I should have checked it, I should..."

“Jack," the archaeologist interrupted him, " it wasn’t logical to think I was among the goats. I was pretty surprised myself when I woke up surrounded by them.”

“That logic almost killed you. After so many years of dealing with nonstandard situations, of defeating the impossible, I almost let the fucking readings of a drone to convince me you were dead.”

“Almost being the keyword here, Jack. Although all the evidence pointed out to that fact, in the end, you didn’t believe it,” the archaeologist stated firmly.

“It was you, Daniel, the one who taught me to read beyond the facts.”

“Don’t sell yourself so short, Jack. You learned to trust your gut feeling much sooner than you met me,” Daniel insisted.

“I guess we make a good couple, then,” Jack smiled softly.

“The best,” Daniel mirrored his smile. “And in one week, we’ll show it in front of all of our friends.”

“Baby, are you sure you’re up to it? I mean, you just…”

“Jack,” Daniel cut in, “the thought of our incoming wedding gave me the strength to survive. I promised you I’d be safe and sound at the altar and nothing is going to make me break that promise, much less a few bruises. As Teal’c would say…”

“… undomesticated equines… “Jack widened his smile.

“Exactly,” Daniel grinned.

Suddenly Jack’s eyes shadowed. “You scared the shit out of me, you know.”

“To be honest, I scared the shit out of myself,” Daniel replied with the same solemnity.

“I think instead of a ring I should have bought you a leash.”

“I like the ring better, thank you very much,” Daniel chuckled.

“I freaked out for a while, you know? I thought I would end up in a padded cell. If I had lost you…”

“Hey, hey, you didn’t. I’m fine, let’s not dwell on it, ok? We have more important matters to discuss,” Daniel squeezed his fiancé’s hand.

“Such as?”

“The wedding cake, of course! What do you prefer, just chocolate, or chocolate and coffee?”

“God, I love you, Dr. Jackson, forever.

“I love you, Mr. O’Neill, forever.”

***

**One week later**

Daniel had never been so nervous in his entire life. It wasn’t like he was going to tell Jack things that never told him, but one thing was to do this in the intimacy of his house, and another very different was to spill his guts about his feelings for him in front of his whole family and friends. For a fraction of a second, he regretted agreeing to have a ceremony. Just for a fraction of a second. Truth be told, he felt as much nervous as excited and happy. In a few minutes, he would be Jack’s husband.

Fortunately, he had recuperated just fine from the injuries he had suffered when he was caught by the avalanche. He had been able to leave the infirmary after a couple of days, and Jack had been treating him like a porcelain doll. He, for once, had accepted the caring without complaining. All his friends had helped in the preparations for the wedding so he and Jack didn’t have to suffer too much stress and they could concentrate on his healing. Today, one week after the accident, the only witnesses were a few fading bruises and a residual headache. The painkillers Dr. Lam had prescribed him had reduced it to an intermittent throbbing that was fading by the minute. At the moment he felt good and more than ready to fulfill the dream he had been obligated to postpone for so many years.

“Daniel, stay still for a second,” Vala ordered. “There’s no way to put the tie straight!”

“Sorry, I'm a little nervous,” Daniel apologize while his friend arranged the tie with precision. “What time is it? Do you know if Jack is ready yet? Have all the guests arrived? Please, tell me the catering service’s got everything right. Did they bring the cake? What about the rings? God, the rings! Where are the rings?!” he turned around brusquely, looking for the precious small box, and ruined all Vala's efforts with the movement.

“Daniel! Will you please calm down? Remember Sam’s got the rings, they’re safe!

“Sorry, sorry, oh God, I can’t do this, I can’t do this. What if he regrets it at the last moment? What if he doesn’t even appear? What if he says no?”

“Daniel Jackson! Will you stop saying nonsense? I've never seen anyone so much in love in my entire life, and believe me, I've seen maaaany love around the galaxy. Of course, I've been many times in the receiver end, but today it’s not about me, right? So, get a grip, doctor, go out there and make me feel proud of you.” She made the last movement with the bow tie and attached a small rose in his lapel. “And he better say yes, because I'm sorry to tell you, but I'm taken. Although I could have second thoughts because, darling, you look absolutely gorgeous.” She grinned widely.

Daniel rolled his eyes.

***

Jack had never been so nervous in his entire life. It wasn’t like he was going to tell Daniel things that never told him, but one thing was to do this in the intimacy of his house, and another very different was to spill his guts about his feelings for him in front of his whole family and friends. He had never been good doing that publicly, but he had been able to do it before, with Sarah, so this time it should be even easier, because although he had loved her deeply, what he felt for Daniel was far beyond anything he had felt before. He was eager to call him husband. He couldn’t stop bouncing on his heels.

“Sir… Jack… there’s no way I'll be able to tie that bow if you keep bouncing,” Sam scolded him with a frown.

“Sorry, sorry, it's just, well, you know… I'm a bit… tense.”

“A bit?” Sam chuckled.

“What if he regrets at the last minute? What if he didn’t even show up? What if he says no?” he scrubbed his fingers through his hair nervously.

“Will you stop worrying and let me finish with that? I've never seen anyone so in love. No way he’s going to say no,” she laughed while she finished arranging the tie.

“How am I looking? Too gray? Too old? Does this suit make me fat?

“You look perfect,” Sam reassured him. “Very elegant, very…handsome.”

He looked at himself in the mirror and straightened his jacket.

“Sir.” Sam attached a small rose in his lapel and patted it in encouragement. “It’s time.”

Jack swallowed hard.

***

Since they were going to marry themselves, they had decided to walk down the aisle together. Sam accompanied Jack to the glass door that led to the backyard. Daniel wasn’t there yet. Jack stood next to the door, bouncing on his feet and blowing repeatedly.

Just when Jack’s mind started to panic again, wondering if the archaeologist would show or not, Daniel appeared at the top of the stairs accompanied by Vala. When they saw each other, both men froze, mouth agape. Their hearts jumped at the view and their cocks twitched at the same time.

Daniel was wearing a navy blue tuxedo with a white shirt and sky blue vest and bow tie. Even from the distance, Jack noticed how the outfit enhanced the blue of his eyes spectacularly. He looked absolutely stunning. Jack thought that he had never seen anything so beautiful in his entire life. He swallowed hard again, his mouth suddenly dry like the sands of Abydos.

Daniel felt himself blush under Jack’s scrutiny, but he couldn’t look away. The former general had chosen a gray tuxedo with a gray vest and ivory shirt and bow tie, which matched perfectly with his silver hair and emphasized his attractiveness spectacularly. Daniel had never seen a more handsome man in his entire life. He licked his lips unconsciously, but his tongue felt like sandpaper.

“Come on, darling,” Vala grabbed his arm and pulled him. “You don’t want to marry in the middle of the stairs, do you?”

“Wha- what?” Daniel snapped out of his trance.

“Jack? Wedding? Ring a bell? Well, is not that there’s going to be bells, but sure there’s going to be rings, so, c’mon, move.”

Daniel nodded weakly and swallowed the lump in his throat. He went down the stairs, his gaze glued to Jack’s. He stopped three feet in front of his partner, his eyes glistening with great emotion. Jack’s chocolate ones shone with the deepest warmth. He smiled and reached out an open hand. Daniel took it and smiled as well. Jack squeezed his fiancé’s fingers and grinned. They hadn’t even noticed that Sam and Vala had left them alone.

“Let’s show them, Spacemonkey.”

Daniel’s chuckled at the old nickname and his mouth curved in the biggest grin Jack had never seen on him.

“Let’s show them, Flayboy.”

They both took a deep breath and went outside. The day was perfect, warm ad sunny. For once, the powers of the universe had played at their side. The backyard was occupied with several rows of chairs with a central aisle. Someone gasped, and the guests turned around to watch the couple. Music began to play and the two lovers walked along the aisle towards a small wooden platform that held an arch decorated with autumn leaves and a few roses and balloons. They had freaked out a bit when Vala had offered herself to take care of the decoration, but truth be told, she had done a great job. Everything looked elegant, every element in its perfect place.

Jack's and Daniel’s hearts pounded wildly while they walked. Daniel blushed at the comments of admiration that came from most of the women and some men too. Everybody was smiling happily and for the first time in his life, Daniel felt as if he was part of a big family, much bigger than he had thought until now. Jack noticed his partner’s sentiment and squeezed his hand a bit harder in support.

When they arrived at the platform, they climbed on it and stood one in front of the other, their hands still strongly entwined. Although over fifty people were accompanying them on that day, at that moment they felt as if they were the only inhabitants in the universe. They couldn’t stop staring at each other. Their eyes were irradiating the strongest of loves and commitments. Jack cupped Daniel’s jaw and stroked his cheek lovingly with his thumb. At that moment, the only thing that existed in the archaeologist’s world was Jack. Jack’s eyes, Jack’s touch, just… Jack. Then the former general took a deep breath and began to talk.

“Eighteen years ago, I thought my life had ended. I had lost the most important thing in my life, and I couldn’t find any reason to live. I had turned into an insensitive son of a bitch.” He stopped for a few seconds to compose himself before continuing. “And then I met you, and my heart, that had been dead for weeks, started to beat again. I remember when that sort of Abydonian mammoth dragged you across the desert, God, Danny, you have to admit there was something comical on that.” Daniel chuckled at the memory and the guests laughed.” I smiled, Danny, I smiled for the first time in weeks. You caught my attention from the first moment. Your intelligence, your optimism, your passion, your kindness, your bravery… I had never known anyone like you. I’ll never get tired of telling you, you are the strongest person I’ve met in my life. On that first mission, you saved my life in so many ways… And I started to love you, even if I wasn’t aware of it yet.

With great emotion, Daniel took Jack’s hand and dragged it to his lips to kiss it softly.

“Many things have happened since then, but during those eighteen years, there has been only a constant in my life. My love for you. Even in the tough moments, even during our disagreements, or during the year you were gone, there has only been one person who occupied my heart, you. Always you. I love you so much, Danny. You know me more than myself. You have reached parts of me I didn’t even know existed. You have taught me so much. You awakened my passion, raked up my feelings. I’ve laughed and cried with you. You accept me with no judgment. At your side, I feel completely free. I’ve entrusted my soul to you. For all that and much more, I’ve been wishing to be your husband for so long, and well, finally today, if you accept me, I’ll be able to fulfill my wish. I love you, Daniel, more than anything, and I could spend hours explaining why, but maybe our guests' blood sugar would drop to a dangerous level.”

More laughs from the crowd.

“Daniel, you’re my life, my heart, my soul and I promise you that if you accept being my husband, I’ll continue loving you and protecting you forever because you’re the most precious treasure in my life. You have been for eighteen years, and you will always be. So, what do you say? Do you accept this impatient, irreverent, scarred old man?”

Daniel’s lower lip began to quiver and his eyes moistened. A huge lump blocked his throat and he couldn’t talk at the moment. God, Jack’s words had shaken him hard. Such a display of public emotion… he wasn’t used to that at all. The deep love he felt for his soon to be husband increased tenfold. He tried to contain his emotions, but he couldn’t. A single tear escaped the corner of his eye and rolled down his cheek. Jack brushed it away with his thumb tenderly.

“J-Jack… I… wow...” Daniel looked upwards and blinked back tears. Then he took a deep breath to try to control the rush of emotions that filled his heart. He brought Jack’s hand to his chest so his partner could feel the speed of his heartbeat.

“I… God, of course I accept you. I… I studied archaeology because I was thrilled about the new discoveries I could make, about how much I could learn about human history, but everything I've learned, each discovery I've done, pales in comparison to the discoveries I've made at your side. You…” Daniel stopped for a few seconds, swallowed hard, and tried to keep the tears at bay. Once he trusted he had composed himself, he continued with his vows. “You are the greatest adventure of my life. After my parents died, I learned to be on my own, I never committed to anyone or anything for too long. I didn’t think I needed anyone until I met you. I never knew what I was missing until you offered me your warmth and strength… your love. On our first mission I learned that under the mask of badass colonel, there was a sensitive and loving heart. I wasn’t mistaken. You're the most caring person I've ever met, and I want to thank you for sharing that side of you with me.”

The guests got trapped by the aura of deep love that irradiated from the two men. The way they were staring at each other, how their eyes were shining with sheer admiration and devotion, had everyone hypnotized.

The emotion swelled Jack and Daniel’s hearts. Currents of electricity ran through every cell of their bodies. The feeling was like nothing they had experienced before. The fact of sharing their most intimate feelings in front of their family and friends broke the last barriers, and they felt cherished and protected as never before, not only by themselves but by all those who were accompanying them on that special day.

Daniel took a trembling breath and went on talking.

“Jack, I want to thank you for everything you offered to me. You gave me the most precious gifts- at first your friendship and respect, and later a family, a home, your love. You taught me to believe in us, you are my rock in my moments of weakness, my compass when I am adrift, my friend when I need comfort, and my lover when I needed to be loved. You are the one that listens and believes in me when no one else does, the one that challenges me when I need to be challenged, the one who gives me wings when I need to fly and restrains me when I need to stop. You’re the one… the one who let me go when… when I needed to leave, and the one who embraced me again when I came back.” Daniel’s voice cracked at that point, and he couldn’t stop a new tear from sliding down his cheek. “You’ve are my safety net every time I fall,” he continued, his voice strained by the emotion. “the one who holds my hand when I'm sick or hurt and who laughs with me when I'm enjoying life. You’re my best friend, my lover, my protector, and also my toughest adversary, and for all this and more, I love you more than life, and nothing would make me happier than you accepted to be my husband.”

Jack thought he was going to burst at any moment. He tried to keep his composure, but Daniel’s words had touched his soul so deeply that he lost the battle and a first tear escaped the corner of his eye. God, how he loved this man! Seeing his partner crying, Daniel couldn’t hold his emotion any longer and warm tears began to stream uncontrollably down his cheeks.

At that point, the totality of women and half of the men were crying as well.

“Damn you, Daniel,” Vala sobbed. “Do you have any idea how much this mascara costs?”

Colonel Jason Coburn held her strongly against his chest. At his right, Teal’c was holding Ishta, Dominique was embracing a very pregnant Cassie, while Ryac and Kar’yn kissed briefly. Paul and Max held each other while they ran their fingers along with their own engagement rings, Mitchell looked sideways at Dr. Lam, and Sam… well, Sam thought that maybe it was time to stop focusing only on her career and start paying attention to other matters. At her forty-five years old, well, almost forty-six, maybe it wasn’t too late to form a family after all. For the first time in her life, she smiled at the thought sincerely.

Simon Wells rested his arm on his wife's shoulder, their daughter, little Janet, sandwiched between them. Simon leaned towards the child.

“It's time, kiddo,” he whispered into her ear.

Little Janet grinned from ear to ear, got up, and went to Sam.

“It's time, Colonel Carter,” she whispered, holding a small pillow in front of her.

Sam smiled widely as she rummaged into her bag and grabbed a small box. She opened it, took the two rings that were inside, and put them carefully on the pillow. Janet’s face brightened. Then, with all the care she was able, walked towards the two men that were staring lovingly at each other on the platform while brushed their damp cheeks with the heels of their hands. She stood in front of them and reached out her arms, offering the pillow to them.

“Uncle Daniel, uncle Jack,” she said cheerfully.

They looked at her, and each one of them grabbed a ring. Daniel smiled his thanks and Jack winked at her. Janet's smile widened and ran to her father's lap. Both grooms looked at the rings for a few seconds. They were made of gold and had engraved the gate addresses of Earth and Abydos all around, a reminder of what had brought them together.

On the platform, Jack talked first.

“Daniel, I offer you this ring as a symbol of my infinite love for you, and with that gesture, I take you as my husband, to love you, honor you, respect you, support you and protect you, for the rest of my life. You’re my most valuable treasure and I promise I'll love you unconditionally, forever.”

Jack took Daniel’s trembling hand and slid the ring on his finger. The apparently simple gesture triggered a new rush of emotion in the two men, and their eyes moistened again.

Daniel swallowed to dissolve the lump in his throat and took Jack’s hand. He was shaking uncontrollably.

“Jack, I… I offer you this-this ring as a sy-symbol of my infinite love… for you, and with this gesture, I… I take you as m-my husband, to love you… honor you… respect you… support you and pro-protect you, for… for the rest of my life. God, Jack, you’re my most valuable t-t-treasure and I… I promise I'll love you… unconditionally, fore-ver.”

Daniel’s voice definitely broke at the last syllable, and new tears dampened his face. He couldn’t talk anymore, such big was the emotion that overtook his heart. He slid the ring along Jack’s finger ceremoniously.

Jack cupped his brand-new husband’s face and pulled him towards him, gluing their foreheads together.

“One heart…” Jack started...

“… one soul…” Daniel continued, his voice touched with deep emotion.

“… forever.” They ended in unison.

And dragged by an infinite rush of passion, their lips and tongues met in a long and fervent kiss that showed with no doubt the intensity of the feelings they shared.

The guests held their breath for a moment, and then they burst into claps and whistles.

“Hooray for the Jackson-O'Neills!” Ferretti’s voice stood out over the crowd.

“Hooray!” Everyone shouted in unison.

The newlyweds broke the kiss and turned around to see their guests, their hands still strongly entwined. They both were grinning from ear to ear, a deep feeling of happiness filling their heart and soul. As their family and friends approached to give them their congratulations, they looked at each other again, confirming with the brightness of their eyes, every one of the words they had said on the altar.

They had finally fulfilled their deepest wish and as they made their first steps as husband and husband, they were absolutely convinced that they would accomplish their vows of eternal love, forever.

**The end, for now**


End file.
